The Philadelphia Phillies, who are currently 25-25 this season, have performed better recently. Their current winning streak is largely due to starters Zack Wheeler and Christopher Sanchez dominating the rotation.
However, the Phillies continue to pitch Aaron Nola every fifth day, despite his poor performance this season, and for much of last season. Aaron Nola has a seven-year, $172 million deal that expires in 2030. Nola was named an MLB All-Star in 2018, but she is still short of the Phillies franchise record for career games started.
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The Philadelphia Phillies may have a difficult decision to make regarding Aaron Nola.
Aaron Nola has a 5. 91 ERA in 45. 2 innings pitched across nine starts this season. It’s not the most encouraging start, and the Phillies coaches may have to evaluate some form of role adjustment or even a prospective demotion to get Nola back on track. Aaron Nola has been good enough throughout his MLB career to not deserve to play in the minors for an extended period of time, but it might be a beneficial reset for the 32-year-old right-handed pitcher.
According to FanSided. com’s Chris Landers, Aaron Nola’s terrible statistics are too obvious to ignore:
“Except, well, it sure seems like the downturn is already here. Nola has followed up a terrible 2025 season (6. 01 ERA, 1. 346 WHIP) with something possibly worse thus far in 2026: His strikeouts are low, his walks are high, and the contact he gives up is extremely loud. Yes, it is only the middle of May, and ten starts is far from a conclusive sample, particularly for someone of Nola’s talent. Still, it is impossible to overlook the patterns here, and each clunker he tosses up seems to indicate that the Phillies will have a short-term and long-term issue.
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Aaron Nola struggled again on Wednesday against the Reds.
Aaron Nola struggled in his Wednesday afternoon start against the Cincinnati Reds. He gave up four earned runs in five innings. Nola surrendered six earned runs to the Pirates before the Reds began.
In his previous six outings, Nola has allowed 24 runs. It’s the long ball that continues to torment him. He has already given up 18 home runs this season, which is not a good rate in the first two months.
Landers is right; it has become impossible to ignore. Perhaps the Phillies should consider a trade? However, given his performance this season, it would be difficult to locate a trading partner, and the team owes him far too much money to salary dump as Philadelphia did with Taijuan Walker.
As I mentioned, a brief stint in the minor leagues may get Aaron Nola back on track, or they will just have to live with a starter who consistently has an ERA in the upper 5. 00s, which is far from ideal.
