The Phillies had hoped that at this point Aaron Nola would be close to rejoining the rotation, instead, he is further away from returning than when he first suffered a sprained right ankle a month ago. The ankle injury put Nola on the Injured List, a place that he is very unfamiliar with.
After having some discomfort, the Phillies ordered an MRI and found that somehow, Nola had a stress reaction in one of his right ribs that means he will need to shut down his rehab program. Nobody, including Nola, is sure how the injury occurred, but it’s there and means that the 32-year-old likely won’t return until after the All-Star Break or possibly slightly later than that.
The injury opens up a number of questions for the Phillies and team president Dave Dombrowski. Mick Abel has taken Nola’s spot in the rotation and the Phillies are optimistic that he can hold down that spot at least until Nola returns from his latest injury. Then, there is the question of Andrew Painter and when he will make him MLB debut as he works back from Tommy John surgery. Plus, a look at the calendar also puts the Trade Deadline of July 31st right around the time that Nola could be back. Of course, nothing would stop the team from pulling off a deal prior to the deadline if they feel it’s necessary.
In his nine starts prior to being placed on the IL, Nola was admittedly struggling and had a 6.16 ERA.
