Aaron Nola DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (ankle, side) was scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Thursday, but instead he'll be shut down for a day or two, according to manager Rob Thomson. Nola felt some stiffness in his right side, although Thomson said it's "very mild" and the team is being overly cautious. The 32-year-old veteran is currently on the 15-day injured list and is recovering from a sprained right ankle, but now he's dealing with another ailment. It doesn't sound like Nola will be pushed back too far in his rehab, but it's something else to worry about for a normally solid fantasy pitcher that was really struggling before going on the shelf. Nola should be stashed in an IL spot in all fantasy leagues, but so far he's gone 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA and 1.51 WHIP with 52 strikeouts and 16 walks in 49 2/3 frames over his nine starts.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (ankle) threw a bullpen session ahead of Sunday's series finale versus the Brewers, according to the team. Nola is expected to advance to live batting practice this week, and a minor-league rehab assignment is likely to follow, meaning a potential return date is mid-to-late June. The veteran right-hander has been on the injured list with a sprained right ankle since mid-May. The positive news for fantasy managers is that Nola is not dealing with any serious arm injuries and should be back in the rotation shortly. The Phillies may want to consider giving Nola more than one rehab start to sharpen up due to his poor 6.16 ERA and 1.51 WHIP through 49 2/3 innings on the season, which are career-worst numbers for him, by far. In the meantime, on Sunday, the Phillies recalled Mick Abel to fill in the fifth spot in the rotation, which was previously assigned to Taijuan Walker.

Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (ankle) said he still felt something in his sprained right ankle after throwing a light bullpen session, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber. Nola is hoping to be able to throw a higher-intensity bullpen session on Thursday and admitted he'll need a minor-league rehab tune-up before he rejoins the Phillies' starting rotation. It's unclear if Nola will need more than one start in the minor leagues, but either way, fantasy managers probably count on having him back for another couple of weeks. When the 31-year-old former first-rounder does return to the big-league rotation, he'll be looking to turn around what has been a dreadful start to his 2025 season. In nine starts before landing on the 15-day injured list, Nola went 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA and 1.51 WHIP with 52 strikeouts and 16 walks in 49 2/3 innings pitched.