PHILADELPHIA — Phillies workhorse starter Aaron Nola’s worst season got even worse Tuesday, as an MRI revealed he has a “stress reaction” in his right rib cage, according to manager Rob Thomson.
The “reaction” injury has been termed as a “precursor” to a possible stress fracture in the area. Thomson said he didn’t know the cause of the injury, and added Nola will be “treatment only” for at least the next two weeks. He will not be throwing and will not undergo any baseball activities. A rehab period will be necessary beyond that.
Nola has already been out for almost a month with an ankle sprain that was has been slow to mend. He was slowly making his way back when a planned pitching drill against live hitters was cancelled about a week ago due to stiffness he said he felt in his right side. The Phils were in Toronto at the time.
Nola was already having perplexing problems on the mound. The guy who has won 105 games with a career ERA of 3.78 for the Phillies is currently 1-7 with a 6.61 ERA this season. He had signed a seven-year, $172 million contract prior to last season.
It is believed Nola originally suffered the ankle injury May 8 in Tampa, while he was doing agility drills at Steinbrenner Field before a game against the Rays. Despite a terrible start to the season, he had just had a pair of encouraging outings. But in two starts after tweaking the ankle in Tampa, Nola suffered a 6-0 loss in Cleveland, then was bombed at home in what became a 14-7 loss to the Cardinals on May 14.
He hit the Injured List shortly thereafter. It was the first time he was placed on injured reserve since the 2017 season. Since then, Nola has thrown more innings than any other MLB pitcher.