Phillies Place Aaron Nola on 15-Day DL with Elbow Strain

Just hours before his scheduled start, the Phillies placed Aaron Nola on the DL

Major news came across the Philly sports landscape as starting pitcher Aaron Nola was placed on the 15-day disabled list less than four hours before his start against the San Francisco Giants.

The diagnosis is an elbow strain, and a timetable for his return is not yet known. Nola has struggled mightily since May, and this could perhaps be the reason why.

To start tonights game, the Phillies have called up right-handed pitcher Phil Klein from Lehigh Valley. Klein is 1-1 with a 2.13 era for the Iron Pigs after being claimed off waivers from the Texas Rangers.

Klein has pitched in the major leagues, sporting a 5.19 era in eight appearances for the Texas Rangers in 2016, and has bounced between Texas and their Triple-A affiliate since 2014. Tonight will be Klein’s third career major league start, and his first since 2015.

Klein was more or less an emergency call up for the Phillies. Top pitching prospect Jake Thompson pitched on Sunday, making him unavailable for tonights start.

With Nola expected to be out for a minimum of two weeks, it would not be surprising to see Thompson receive his first call up to the big leagues.

The Phillies announced an additional roster move on Wednesday; this one involving the bullpen. Jeanmar Gomez has been placed on the paternity list, and the team has called in Michael Mariot to fill his role in the bullpen for the time being.

As stated before, Jake Thompson is the hot name people will be asking about to be the long-term replacement for Nola as he comes back from the elbow injury. However, the Phillies will most likely not want to bounce him between the majors and AAA when Nola comes back. James Russell and Adam Morgan are available in Lehigh Valley.

On the other side, general manager Matt Klentak acknowledged the club has been considering implementing a six-man rotation. This would help spread out the starts for the younger pitchers who have never experienced a long professional season.

All of it will depend on whether the club foresees Jeremy Hellickson being moved during the waiver trade deadline period as Nola recovers.