The Philadelphia Phillies are hoping to reclaim the division lead with a strong second half. However, the team’s rotation took a major hit this week when an MRI revealed Aaron Nola suffered an injury setback.
Nola sustained a stress fracture in his rib cage and the 11th-year veteran said the ailment is causing discomfort when “breathing heavy or throwing,” according to The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes on X.
Nola was already on the injured list with a sprained right ankle that he picked up in his last start for the Phillies on May 14. He was placed on the 15-day IL, making him eligible to return by the end of May.
However, the former All-Star suffered an injury setback that kept him sidelined beyond the initial timeline for his activation. Now he’s dealing with a rib fracture that will keep him out even longer.
A new injury will delay Aaron Nola’s return to the Phillies’ rotation
Nola has spent his entire career with the Phillies, debuting in 2015. He’s been a consistently reliable starter for the team with a career 3.78 ERA, 1.148 WHIP and 111 ERA+. At one point, Nola made six straight Opening Day starts for Philadelphia before Zach Wheeler supplanted him.
But Nola struggled in 2025 prior to getting hurt. He’s gone just 1-7 in nine starts this season and is sporting a career-high 6.16 ERA and 1.510 WHIP as well as a career low ERA+ of 68. Nola reached a low point in his last start before landing on the IL. The 32-year-old hurler got lit up by the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing nine runs on 12 hits in 3.2 innings. The Phillies would lose the game 14-7.
Despite Nola’s rocky start to the season and subsequent injury-related absence, Philadelphia’s rotation has performed fairly well. Phillies starters lead the majors in strikeouts, quality starts and fWAR and they rank fifth in WPA. Still, the rotation is middle of the pack in ERA (10th), WHIP (15th) and batting average against (16th).
Overall the Phillies have struggled after a hot start. The team has lost 10 of the last 13 games, falling to 39-29 on the season as the New York Mets surpassed them in the NL East. New York has a 5.5 game lead over Philadelphia in the division entering play on Friday.
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