Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson will miss 'chunk' of next season after surgery

PITTSBURGH - The Milwaukee Brewers will enter the 2018 season facing raised expectations but without the player generally regarded as their top starting pitcher for an undetermined amount of time.

Right-hander Jimmy Nelson had the partially torn anterior labrum in his pitching shoulder repaired on Tuesday by well-known surgeon Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.

While the procedure was deemed successful, it was extensive enough that the team will now head into the off-season knowing the 28-year-old won't be available for a "chunk" of 2018. 

"This is probably somewhere in the middle of the scenarios," general manager David Stearns said of the outcome on Wednesday.

"The best-case scenario Jimmy told you guys was the doctor goes in there and it’s a relatively minor procedure, and he has the potential to be back at the front end of next year. That obviously we don’t think is going to be the case; we do think he is going to miss a chunk of next year.

"But on the plus side, we do think he’s going to be able to pitch in the major leagues for us at some point next year. We don’t know exactly when, but we’ll see how the rehab goes."

Nelson had bounced back from a forgettable 2016 season to become part of a reliable trio of Milwaukee starting pitchers that includes Zach Davies and Chase Anderson. He posted career highs in virtually every category, going 12-9 with a 3.49 ERA and WHIP of 1.25 while striking out 199 in 175 1/3 innings over 29 starts.

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What's made Nelson's injury tough to digest for the Brewers is it occurred while running the bases in his final start on Sept. 8 at Wrigley Field. Nelson singled off the wall in left and made a wide turn around first base but then dove back into the bag headfirst, jamming his shoulder in the process.

Nelson went on to pitch another inning after that but was pulled, and it was determined a day later that he'd partially torn the labrum as well as strained his rotator cuff.

"This is a little bit different labrum injury because it’s not a throwing injury," manager Craig Counsell said. "It’s almost more of a football injury. I have to learn more about what that means.

"Any surgery to a pitcher’s arm, elbow, shoulder, you’re obviously concerned. But they feel more common now, and guys do come back from them. We know that Jimmy will put in the nth degree of work to come back, so I’m planning on having him back next year."

Stearns also pointed to Nelson's diligence in attacking the rehab process, but reiterated that there's no way of knowing whether Nelson could be back before the all-star break or after in 2018.

"At this point, we don’t know. We really don’t," he said. "I’m comfortable saying it’s highly unlikely he’ll be back for opening day, and I’m also comfortable saying he will pitch for us next year. Beyond that, I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.

"It’s going to take multiple months into this rehab process for us to get a sense of how quickly or slowly this may go for Jimmy."

With Nelson out, the Brewers have filled his void with an all-hands-on-deck approach that's included multiple relievers one game and youngsters like Wednesday's starter Aaron Wilkerson.

They'll go into next year with Davies and the arbitration-eligible Anderson near the front of their rotation, with in-house options like Wilkerson, Josh Hader and Brandon Woodruff and minor-league prospects such as Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta potentially in the mix as well.

There's also the possibility Stearns & Co. could trade for a starter or sign a free agent if the price is right as the bar in the team's rebuild has been raised now with its ongoing and unexpected postseason push. 

"Look, I don’t think you ever completely recover from losing a player like Jimmy Nelson," Counsell said. "But this is opportunity for somebody else. That’s what this means.

"Who that is, we feel like we certainly have a lot of candidates to get that opportunity. That’s really what it means to me: It’s going to be opportunity for someone else.

"Jimmy is going to push himself to get back as quickly as he can."