After an initial scare with Jhoan Duran on Saturday and having to put their ace Zack Wheeler on the 15-day IL due to a blood clot, the Phillies will turn to a familiar face to help bolster their starting rotation. For the majority of the season, that rotation seemed to be a lock as one of the best in all of baseball heading down the home stretch, but it’s now in potential disarray.
Phillies Announce flurry of moves
The team announced Sunday morning that Aaron Nola has been reinstated from the 60-day IL after completing his rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, working his way back from an ankle and rib injury. The right-handed veteran put together three strong starts with the IronPigs posting a 2.19 ERA over 12 1/3 innings with 17 strikeouts to just three walks. Nola struck out 11 batters in 5 2/3 innings in his most recent rehab start.
Nola makes his first start on Sunday morning in the series finale against the Nationals marking the first time he’s taken the mound for the Phillies since May 14 after the 32-year-old struggled to start the season going 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts.
The club will need Nola to return to form and help anchor a rotation that will now lean heavily on the righty along with Cristopher Sánchez while Ranger Suárez looks to get back on track after his struggles in the second half.
Also rejoining the Phillies is third baseman Alec Bohm. Bohm, like Nola was dealing with a broken rib and will return to the lineup, batting cleanup for Philadelphia after missing nearly a month. Bohm hit .143 (3-for-25) in 21 at-bats with Lehigh Valley during his rehab assignment but one of those three hits was a home run.
Bohm has not been able to replicate the success he had during his 2024 All-Star campaign hitting .278 with a .715 OPS in 92 games this season with eight home runs. The Phillies are hoping Bohm can tap into his power that led to a successful season last year from the right side of the plate and provide some thump in a lineup that has the 11th-best OPS since June 1 at .731.
As expected, Otto Kemp was optioned to Lehigh Valley to make room for Bohm. Kemp, a fantastic story to earn a call to the show, crushed Triple-A pitching over the first two months of the season and forced his way to the bigs. However, the power he showcased with the IronPigs (14 homers in 58 games) did not carry over to the major leagues. He posted a .657 OPS with four homers in 46 games. Kemp played third base, first base and left field with the Phillies and will look to improve defensively at third base where he struggled committing five errors in 46 chances.
Cal Stevenson, who is injured, was released by the Phillies to round out the slew of roster moves announced. Placed on the seven-day IL on Wednesday, the journeyman outfielder played in 87 games with Lehigh Valley and had a .717 OPS while hitting .237. Stevenson had two stints with the Phillies last year and this this season appearing in 23 games playing in five contests this season with Philadelphia.
Mandatory Photo Credit: JJ Horvath-DPI
