Aaron Nola Dealing With New Injury Issue, Return to Phillies' Rotation Unknown

The Philadelphia Phillies have some more rotation questions.

Apr 5, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) before action against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

This was not the season anyone envisioned for Philadelphia Phillies stalwart starter Aaron Nola.

Sitting with a 6.16 ERA through nine starts before he ended up on the injured list with a sprained ankle, this year is going to be the worst of his career if things continue the way they have been going.

It appeared like the veteran was turning things around at the end of April and in the early going of May, but the Phillies moved him to the injured list following his outing on May 14 when he gave up nine earned runs that suggested something was wrong.

The hope is Nola will be able to figure some things out during his time on the shelf while getting healthy, turning back into the top-end starter that he's been for the entirety of his 10 previous years in The Show.

However, his recovery just got a bit more complicated.

Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported Nola "felt some soreness in his right side" that was described by manager Rob Thomson to be "very mild." However, this is going to prevent him from throwing his scheduled live bullpen session on Thursday as Philadelphia will wait "a few days" to reassess.

This will push back Nola's timeline.

Already slated to go on a rehab assignment before returning to the Phillies, when exactly that takes place is now unclear.

Hopefully this continues to be a mild situation like Thomson described it to be.

But this does not bode well for the veteran right now as he tries to come back from his ankle injury, so this situation will be something to keep an eye on.