With a 25-25 record this season, the Philadelphia Phillies have shown improvement lately, much of which can be credited to starters Zack Wheeler and Christopher Sanchez for stabilizing the rotation.
Still, the Phillies continue to send Aaron Nola to the mound every fifth day, and he has struggled significantly both this season and for much of the previous one. Nola is in the midst of a seven-year, $172 million deal that lasts through 2030. Though he was an MLB All-Star back in 2018, he’s nowhere near that level now, even as he nears the franchise record for most career games started.
The Phillies May Soon Face a Difficult Choice Regarding Aaron Nola
Through nine starts and 45.2 innings this year, Nola has a 5.91 ERA. That’s far from encouraging, and Philadelphia’s coaching staff might need to consider altering his role or even sending him down to help him reset. Given his track record, Nola doesn’t belong in the minors for long, but a brief stint could serve as a useful reset for the 32-year-old right-hander.
According to FanSided’s Chris Landers, Nola’s troubling stats are impossible to overlook:
“Except that the decline seems to have already arrived. Nola followed a terrible 2025 season (6.01 ERA, 1.346 WHIP) with an even worse start to 2026: strikeouts are down, walks are up, and the contact he’s allowing is exceptionally hard. Yes, it’s only mid-May, and ten starts isn’t a definitive sample especially for a pitcher of Nola’s caliber. Still, the trends are hard to dismiss, and with each poor outing, it looks more like the Phillies have both a short-term and long-term problem on their hands.”
Another Rough Outing for Nola Against the Reds
On Wednesday afternoon, Nola struggled again versus Cincinnati, surrendering four earned runs over five innings. Prior to that, he had allowed six earned runs to the Pirates. Over his last six starts, he has given up 24 runs, with the home run ball continuing to be his downfall he’s already allowed 18 homers this season, a concerning pace for the first two months.
Landers is correct: the issues are now impossible to ignore. A trade might be worth considering, but given Nola’s poor performance this year, finding a willing trade partner would be difficult. Plus, the Phillies owe him too much money to simply dump his salary the way they did with Taijuan Walker.
As I see it, a short minor-league assignment might help Nola get back on track. Otherwise, Philadelphia may have to accept living with a starter who consistently posts an ERA in the upper 5.00s—far from ideal.
Leave a Reply