Austin Nola

BIOGRAPHY

Austin Nola was born December 28, 1989, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is a catcher in the MLB.

The Marlins assigned Nola to the Jamestown Jammers of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League and promoted him to the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the Class A South Atlantic League later in the 2012 season. He played for the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2013 and the Jacksonville Suns of the Class AA Southern League in 2014. After the 2014 season, the Marlins assigned Nola to the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League. He began the 2014 season with Jacksonville, and was promoted to the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) in June 2015. Nola's name appeared on the front and back of his uniform, as the team wore "NOLA", the abbreviation for "New Orleans, Louisiana", on the front of their uniforms.

The Marlins added Nola to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. In 2017, Nola began to play catcher. He was designated for assignment on March 29, 2018. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A. In 2018, Nola batted .279/.370/.376 with two home runs and 32 runs batted in (RBIs) for the New Orleans Baby Cakes of the PCL, while playing 68 games in his second season as a catcher.

During spring training in 2021, Nola fractured the middle finger of his left hand while attempting to catch a foul tip. He missed the first month of the season, with backup catchers Victor Caratini and Luis Campusano filling in behind the plate until Nola was reactivated on April 27. After playing only 18 games upon his return, Nola was sidelined again, this time with a sprained knee. Webster Rivas was called up from Triple-A in Nola's place. Nola began practicing again at the start of July, and started behind the plate again on July 28 for a game against the Oakland Athletics. Nola faced his brother for the first time in their respective MLB careers on August 21, when the Padres played the Phillies. Austin struck out swinging on three consecutive fastball pitches from Aaron. Nola's injury-ridden season came to an end on September 24, when he was shut down to undergo thumb surgery from an injury sustained in a home-plate collision with Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2021, Nola had never gone on the injured list in either the minor or the major leagues; that season, his finger, knee, and thumb injuries limited Nola to only 56 games. He batted .272 in the games he did play, with two home runs and 29 RBIs in 173 at bats.

During Game 2 of the 2022 National League Championship Series, Austin and Aaron Nola became the first pair of brothers in Major League Baseball postseason history to face each other as pitcher and batter.

On January 13, 2023, Nola agreed to a one-year, $2.35 million contract with the Padres, avoiding salary arbitration.

Nola signed with the Royals for the 2024 season.