Nola makes return to work with Phillies

PHILADELPHIA » Aaron Nola, whose availability will be central to anything the Phillies accomplish this season, returned to work Monday with authority.

Having been sidelined for seven days after volunteering that he had been in contact with an individual having had a positive coronavirus test, Nola showed up at Citizens Bank Park and unloaded a productive session in the bullpen.

With Zack Wheeler likely to take a paternity leave later this month, Jake Arrieta coming off season-ending elbow surgery and the rest of the Phillies’ starting pitchers unproven, Nola’s reemergence brought relief and excitement to Joe Girardi.

“Well, I would say I was impressed by his ‘bullpen’ today,” the manager said, “considering that he hadn’t done a lot for a week.”

According to Nola, he had completed a required questionnaire, on which he revealed that he had been in some contact with a coro

navirus victim. That triggered an automatic separation from the team, according to baseball’s health protocols.

Nola chose not to say whether the contact was with a teammate or a member of the organization.

Though Nola impressed his manager Monday, and while he said he had been throwing on a regular basis in his hometown of Baton Rouge during the hiatus, he technically has not been named the starter for the Phils’ July 24 seasonopener against visiting Miami.

“He found a way to do something, but I think it’s too early to tell exactly where he is going to fit in,” Girardi said. “He would have been our Opening Day starter. But I’ve got to give him a chance to show where he is at, because there is adrenaline and there’s excitement when you start to get back on the field.

“I’m not saying he won’t be our starter. And I don’t doubt that he will be ready. But I am not ready to say that yet.”

As for Nola, he made it clear: He’ll be available for Opening Day.

“Yeah, I expect to,” he said. “My arm feels great. I threw a ‘bullpen’ today and expect to get back on a good routine.”

Nola said he will arrange with the coaching staff to throw regularly in batting practice.

“I feel good,” he said. “And I am expecting to get back at it.”

An All-Star in 2018, Nola was 12-7 with a 3.87 ERA last season.

*** Despite the circumstances that drove him to imposed inactivity, Nola had no thoughts about opting out of the season for health reasons.

“It didn’t cross my mind to opt out,” he said. “I don’t have any reasons to. I want to play as bad as anybody else does. The guys who opted out, it is understandable. They have families. They have young kids. But it hadn’t crossed my mind.”

*** Spencer Howard, the developing right-hander who was denied another year of growth when minor-league baseball was cancelled for the season, threw a batting practice session Monday. Howard, 23, was 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in four minorleague stops last year.

“I think it’s too hard right now to evaluate where we would employ him,” Girardi said. “I think we need to go through these next three weeks to see where he is at, just like everybody else.

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about an innings limit now. So that’s comforting. But we’ll have to see where he is at. And he is in a competition, just like the 33 pitchers we have here in camp.”

***

While a growing number of players continue to opt out of the season for health reasons, the Phillies have not had one defector.

“It’s going to come down to how successful we are in keeping Covid out of the clubhouses in baseball,” Girardi said. “We’re going to start getting test results every few days. And if we can remain constant, I think players will feel more comfortable and more safe.”