Jimmy Nelson Up, Marco Estrada to the Bullpen; Wei-Chung Wang to the DL

Jul 14, 2013; Flushing , NY, USA; USA pitcher Jimmy Nelson throws a pitch during the 2013 All Star Futures Game at Citi Field. USA defeated World 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Hot on the heels of Steven’s report of the rumors that Jimmy Nelson would be called up to start on Saturday against St. Louis the Brewers pulled the trigger and called up the big right hander.

To make room for Nelson, the Brewers moved Marco Estrada to the bullpen, and put Wei-Chung Wang on the disabled list with “shoulder tightness.”

Wang, like all Rule-5 draft picks, needed to accrue 90 days on the active roster for the Brewers to fulfill their obligations under Rule 5, and he’ll likely stay on the disabled list until roster expansion in September.

Wang threw 17 innings for the Brewers this season. He allowed 23 runs in those 17 innings, including 6 home runs. That said, the 22-year-old has a bright future ahead in the Milwaukee bullpen, and if the Brewers weren’t contenders this season the fan reaction against him wouldn’t have been nearly as aggressive.

Estrada hasn’t spent significant time in the bullpen since the 2011 season, when he split his time between the rotation and bullpen about evenly. He’ll likely fulfill a long-relief role for the Brewers.

I can’t imagine that Ron Roenicke will bring him in to many close games unless something changes with his propensity to give up long balls.

Nelson has been dominating AAA all season and looks like he is ready for the Brewers to bring him up full-time. We don’t need to recount his stats yet again.

Nelson is not, however, the cure for what is currently ailing the Brewers. The offense has scored two runs or less in seven of their nine July games while the staff has allowed four runs or less in six of those nine games, giving the team a good chance to win.