The Phillies on Monday placed right-hander Aaron Nola on the 10-day DL with a lower back strain. The move is retroactive to April 21.
"Aaron experienced soreness in his lower back during his start on Thursday (against the Mets)," Matt Klentak said in a statement. "After receiving treatment over the last few days, the symptoms improved, but he still felt some tightness during his side session yesterday. Our hope and expectation is that this will not be a lengthy DL placement and that Aaron will miss only one or two starts."
Nola, who missed the second half of last season with an elbow injury, is 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA through three starts and his velocity has been up, a sign that the elbow healed.
His last start was his worst -- he was given a big lead against the Mets but allowed four runs and 11 baserunners over five innings.
Nick Pivetta, off to a dazzling start at Triple A, seems like the logical choice to replace Nola in the rotation. Pivetta is 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA, 24 strikeouts and two walks through three starts.
