CINCINNATI — Aaron Nola appears ready to return to the Philadelphia Phillies’ rotation after a strong performance in his latest rehab assignment. On Tuesday night, Nola struck out 11 batters and allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Nola reported feeling good physically after each of his previous rehab outings. If he remains healthy following Tuesday’s game, his next start is expected to be with the Phillies.
Nola is currently scheduled to pitch on Sunday against the Washington Nationals, but the team may opt to wait until Monday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners before activating him. “We’re still talking about that,” manager Rob Thomson said prior to Tuesday night’s game in Cincinnati. “We’re going to wait until he gets through this and talk to him tomorrow and see where he’s at.”
If Nola is not activated for Sunday, the Phillies’ rotation for the Nationals series would feature Jesús Luzardo on Thursday, Zack Wheeler on Friday, Taijuan Walker on Saturday, and Ranger Suárez on Sunday. All pitchers would be working with their normal rest periods. However, due to recent struggles by Suárez, the team could consider giving him an extra day off instead of delaying Nola’s return.
The Phillies are considering using a six-man rotation when Nola rejoins the team. This move comes as they face a stretch of 13 games in 13 days and 39 games in 41 days from August 8 through September 17.
The decision is supported by both Nola’s anticipated return and Walker’s recent effectiveness. Walker has posted a 3.39 ERA this season and has improved further with a 2.93 ERA over his last six starts during his current stint in the rotation.
“I think it could benefit everybody, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said Monday regarding adopting a six-man rotation upon Nola’s return. “We’ve been riding these guys pretty hard all year.”
