PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Phillies starter Aaron Nola has been on the COVID Injured List since July 11 after third baseman Alec Bohm tested positive in Boston last weekend. He’s nearing a return to the rotation with Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reporting that he will start on Tuesday against the Yankees.
However, despite his recent experience coming in close contact with someone who tested positive, Nola doesn’t plan to get vaccinated.
“I don’t know,” Nola told NBC Sports Philly’s Jim Salisbury. “It’s a personal choice. Not right now. I’ll keep it at that.”
The Phillies are one of seven teams in Major League Baseball who have not yet reached the 85% vaccination threshold that would allow for the COVID protocols imposed by the league to be relaxed.
Manager Joe Girardi told Salisbury that he believes it’s unlikely that the players who are not vaccinated will change that status.
“I think the people that have not been vaccinated probably won’t get vaccinated,” Girardi said. “That would be my guess.”
With a 44-44 record, the Phils sit just 3.5 games back of the New York Mets for the top spot in the NL East division. That positioning heading into the second half has fans hoping for the playoffs.
With members of the team remaining unvaccinated, there remains the possibility that players could miss more games down the stretch, something that Nola did say has been considered by the players.
“Yeah, that’s crossed our minds,” Nola said. “We’ve got to be careful.”
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