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Phillies injury update: Aaron Nola MRI comes back positive, Howie Kendrick still out

By John Town

Mar 28, 2017; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) walks back to the dugout after he was taken out during the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Spectrum Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2017; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) walks back to the dugout after he was taken out during the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Spectrum Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aaron Nola got an MRI Thursday afternoon and Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said that “nothing concerning” showed up.

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola reportedly suffered a setback during a simulated game last week while trying to return from the 10-day disabled list. Due to that setback, Nola was unable to be activated Monday and return to the rotation.

Nola then returned to Philadelphia Wednesday to get an MRI on his back. If anything showed up, Nola could have been on the disabled list for quite some time.

Thankfully that was not the case as general manager Matt Klentak said “nothing concerning” showed up on the MRI. He said the next step for Nola is to throw a bullpen session this weekend and then they will move on from there: [quote via Marc Narducci of Philly.com]

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"“If that goes well, which we hope it will, that would set him up for a likely rehab assignment at this point,” Klentak said. “He has been down long enough and is likely to go on a rehab assignment before coming back to the major-league club.”"

Nola’s last appearance was April 20 against the Mets. In the meantime, Nick Pivetta will continue to fill in for Nola in the rotation.

Narducci also spoke with Howie Kendrick, who has been on the disabled list since April 18 due to an oblique injury. His time on the disabled list was also expected to be short, but he has now been out for three weeks come Sunday.

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Kendrick told Narducci that there still isn’t a definite date on when he will return:

"“With injuries like this you can’t put a date on it,” Kendrick said. “It’s the same as a hamstring, one day you can feel great and the next day you feel lousy. It’s just about getting consistent.”"

Klentak said Kendrick would go on a rehab assignment before returning by next weekend. In the “best-case scenario”, Kendrick would be rehabbing by the middle of next week.

Next: Phils Opposition Roadblock: Nationals

With Kendrick out for even longer, Aaron Altherr, who has a .346/.433/.577 line in his last 16 games, will continue to stay in the starting lineup. Even when Kendrick returns, it will be hard to keep Altherr out of the lineup.

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