The Philadelphia Phillies have found a solution to their Aaron Nola problem, at least for now. The good news is that with the veteran hurler heading to the injured list, fans can get excited about top prospect Mick Abel finally making his long-awaited MLB debut this weekend.
The Phillies made the announcement on Friday that Nola has been placed on the 15-day IL with a right ankle sprain. The move is retroactive to May 15. He reportedly sustained the injury during an agility workout before his start against the Cleveland Guardians on May 9. The corresponding roster move sees right-hander reliever Daniel Robert, who made his Phillies debut on Wednesday, recalled from Triple-A.
Nola's struggles this season have been well-documented. He's 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts. Aside from two impressive starts to close out April and open May, the right-hander has been dismal. His disappointing season culminated in a career-worst start on Wednesday, a thrashing at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. Nola allowed a career-high nine runs on 12 hits in just 3 2/3 innings.
Phillies make exciting decision to call-up top prospect Mick Abel after Aaron Nola's injury
The team hasn't made the official announcement yet, but according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Lochlahn March, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters before Friday's game that Abel will start on Sunday in the series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Abel was the Phillies' first-round (15th overall) pick in 2020.
Currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the team's No. 8 prospect, Abel had seen his stock plummet over the last few years thanks to some immense struggles in the minors. However, the 23-year-old right-hander has turned a corner this season. In eight starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Abel is 5-2 with a 2.53 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 51 strikeouts and 19 walks in 46 1/3 innings.
As exciting as Abel's debut will be for the team, Abel himself, and the fans, he'll be in tough on Sunday, however, as he is slated to start against Pirates phenom Paul Skenes.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski recently said that he wouldn't hesitate to bring Abel to the big leagues if help in the starting rotation was needed. Now, even though Abel is getting the call, don't expect him to stick around.
Thomson also told reporters that Abel will make just the one spot start and then head back to Triple-A. Veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker will rejoin the rotation after his brief, but successful, stint in the bullpen. We'll have to wait and see how exactly the Phillies set up the rotation when they head out to Colorado to begin a four-game series with the Rockies on Monday.