The Philadelphia Phillies‘ outstanding starting-pitching rotation is poised to get even stronger, just in time for the season’s stretch drive.
Even though he took the loss by allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings, ace-caliber starter Aaron Nola looked dominant by striking out 11 in his final rehab start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday night against Buffalo.
Nola, whose major-league numbers are ghastly (1-7, 6.16 ERA, 0.0 WAR in nine starts), is recovering from both ankle and rib ailments that have sidelined him since mid-May.
The Phillies are 69-50 and lead the second-place New York Mets by five games for the National League East lead. Philadelphia holds the second bye to the NLDS — trailing the major-league leading Milwaukee Brewers — leading the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers by 1.5 games.
What Did The Phillies Say About Aaron Nola’s Return?
The Phillies are third in the majors in starters ERA this season (3.41) and their starters lead the majors in FIP (3.42), led by ace-caliber pitching from Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez — as well as Taijuan Walker’s recent surge.
But adding a starter of Nola’s caliber, assuming he is as effective as he was in his final rehab start, will effectively be like a trade-deadline acquisition — which is massive, since few other rivals were able to add starters at the deadline due to the high cost.
Nola is built up — he threw 84 pitches Tuesday night — and reportedly showed no signs of distress after the outing. But when asked, before Philadelphia’s game Tuesday in Cincinnati, Phillies manager Rob Thomson did not share details of when Nola would be activated.
“We’re still talking about that,” Thomson said, according to MLB.com. “We’re going to wait until he gets through this and talk to him tomorrow and see where he’s at.”
One option that Thomson has discussed is a six-man rotation, which could ease Nola back into the spot while also giving him extra rest to recover — rather than tossing him right into the fire of pitching every fifth day.
Yet, according to Thomson, Nola may not be the sole beneficiary of a six-man rotation. Wheeler and Sanchez, along with Jesus Luzardo, are each on pace to surpass 30 starts this season, and Wheeler is dealing with shoulder soreness and his velocity was down in his most recent start in Texas.
“I think it could benefit everybody, to tell you the truth,” Thomson said on about the possibility of using a six-man rotation when Nola comes back. “We’ve been riding these guys pretty hard all year.”
What Are The Phillies Getting In Aaron Nola?
It may be easy to forget, since Nola had a horrible start to the season, but he led the majors in starts (33) a season ago and has a 37.1 fWAR over his 11-season major-league career.
But Nola’s addition back to the Phillies is massive, especially for the upcoming playoffs. The Phils bullpen has been much better since Dave Dombrowski added Jhoan Duran, who has not allowed a run in four appearances.
But when healthy Nola is a front-of-the-rotation starter, and his addition — and presumed return to standard pitching-wise — will further lengthen Philadelphia’s bullpen come October.
Imagine a starting staff of Wheeler, Sanchez, Nola and Luzardo going to battle against the Mets, Padres or Chicago Cubs — with former bullpen arms Walker and Suarez ready to come out of relief at any point — in the NLDS or against the Brewers or Dodgers in the NLCS.
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