Phillies

Aaron Nola Is Headed to the DL with, Surprise(!), Elbow Strain

By Kyle Scott

Published: Aug 3rd, 2016 · 3:51 PM EDT

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I do hate to be right. Or at least, I’m not happy about it.

The Phillies just announced that Aaron Nola will be going on the DL with a right elbow strain. This is my surprised face: –__|||__–

I like Nola, a lot, but from day 1 he’s had a concerning delivery, which last year led me to write a post titled “Aaron Nola Pitched Great in His Debut, He’ll Probably Need Tommy John Surgery Soon.” RECALL IT:

Aaron Nola was outstanding in his Major League debut last night. Unfortunately, he lost 1-0 (with the only run coming on a home run to the opposing pitcher) because the Phillies’ offense is pathetic and sucks.

One thought on Nola, who looks like the real deal if not for the worry that… he’s going to BLOW OUT HIS GODDAMN ARM within the next year and require Tommy John surgery. Does his arm action remind you of another young, phenom picter? Say, Stephen Strasburg

Elbow strain is certainly not Tommy John surgery, but it is often a precursor for it. Maybe it’s nothing and just some general soreness, but his delivery is not sustainable in its current form if he wants a long career. And as Crashburn Alley – thankfully not that insufferable prick Bill Baer – noted this season, Nola is a good pitcher without great stuff, and he needs a delivery he can count on. I don’t think he has one.

UPDATE: Matt Gelb finds some hard evidence of Nola’s velocity drop in his last few starts: