Dodgers News: Jimmy Nelson Finished a Difficult Spring on a Positive Note

Dodgers RHP Jimmy Nelson had a rough spring. Entering his final appearance, he had a 15.43 ERA in five outings, and was able to get just seven outs. He also walked 11 batters, and hit another one, showing no control over his pitches.

Nelson got a short break to reset his mind, before making an appearance in the team's final spring game against the Angels. And on Tuesday night, he had by far his best outing of the spring, pitching a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Nelson hasn't pitched since 2021, and had to revamp his approach after having Tommy John surgery. So, it was expected for him to have some hiccups along the way.

But his manager, Dave Roberts, praised Nelson for his clean inning in his final appearance of the spring (via SportsNet LA).

"I think for Jimmy, the overall command of his breaking balls tonight — the fastball played in the strikezone, which is really good. I just think those bad misses, just trying to get back so quickly from this big process of surgery and recovery, rehab. I think he wants it all right now. For me, it's just slowing things down which, tonight he did a good job of, he didn't let it spiral out. He was efficient."

Roberts was asked about those "bad misses" he spoke about.

"I think with him, sometimes he wants it too bad and sometimes when people try too hard, the body doesn't work the way it's supposed to," Roberts said. "I thought he was really fluid, I liked his demeanor. With that, the stuff was sharp and came out the right way."

It's nice to see Nelson finally figuring things out just in the nick of time, as he won't be starting the season on the Opening Day roster. But, it was nice for him to have an outing that will give him some confidence going into the new season, where he'll likely start on the injured list as he continues to work his way back and figure things out.