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Phillies' Rob Thomson Announces Aaron Nola Update Before Giants Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin M. Groe | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 3:58 PM ET

Starting pitcher Aaron Nola is in his eleventh major-league season with the Philadelphia Phillies and has emerged as one of the rotation’s key veterans.

The 32-year-old right-hander was selected in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft put of Louisiana State University and made his big-league debut a year later in 2015.

He’s led the National League in starts twice, in 2019 and again in 2024, been named to an All-Star team and finished in the top 10 in Cy Young Award voting three times.

In 2025, however, Nola has struggled, going 1–7 with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts—the highest single-season ERA of his career.

His season took another disappointing turn when he was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 16 (retroactive to May 15) with a sprained right ankle. While rehabbing that injury, an MRI revealed a stress fracture in his right rib cage—an unexpected setback that prompted a transfer to the 60-day IL.

Before Wednesday’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants, manager Rob Thomson outlined Nola’s rehab plan: “He's going to throw a bullpen again today and then on Saturday and then we'll go from there,” per NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The Phillies are optimistic he can return to the form he exhibited in 2024, when he went 14–8 with a 3.57 ERA and 197 strikeouts.

Philadelphia has enjoyed a successful season—sitting at 53–39, tied with the New York Mets atop the NL East—and any contribution from Nola down the stretch could prove pivotal in the club’s pursuit of a postseason berth.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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