The Philadelphia Phillies’ starting rotation is in bad shape. The three-headed monster of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo is perhaps the best in the sport, but the pathetic state of the bottom two spots is threatening to sink the Phillies’ World Series hopes before they even get there. In light of Aaron Nola’s latest blow up, the team now needs to add a playoff-caliber starting pitcher to their trade deadline wish list.
Aaron Nola will go down as one of the greatest pitchers in Phillies’ history, having thrown 1,800 ⅔ innings of 3.93 ERA ball over his 12 years in red pinstripes. His 1,963 career strikeouts place him second all-time among Phillies pitchers, behind only the great Steve Carlton. There’s no denying Nola’s status as a franchise legend who has more than earned his future Wall of Fame plaque, but the fact of the matter is that he’s killing the Phillies currently.
At 33 years old, Nola is a shell of his former self. The 2014 first-round pick has been among the worst pitchers in all of baseball over the last two seasons, posting a horrific 6.02 ERA over 34 starts since the beginning of the 2025 campaign. His latest implosion on Monday night cost the Phillies an eminently winnable game, as he was staked to an early 5-0 lead and went about surrendering eight runs in just 4 ⅓ innings of work.
Monday night was emblematic of the current Aaron Nola experience, as there was simply nothing the other 25 men on the Phillies’ roster could do to make up for his futility. Breaking out the bats early didn’t help and neither did clawing back late. Once the Nola train left the station, it was a loss waiting to happen.
Nola’s struggles, combined with the complete disaster that was Andrew Painter’s first shot at the big leagues, have left the Phillies in a completely untenable spot. Two out of every five games have become scheduled losses for a team that is ostensibly attempting to win a long-awaited World Series.
Speaking of the World Series, that’s where the true problem lies for the Phillies; or at least the postseason in general. With plenty of off days packed into the playoff schedule, teams can get by with only four starting pitchers. That’s great news for the Phillies considering they lack a dependable fifth starter. The only problem is that they don’t have a reliable fourth hurler either.
The Phillies can't afford to let Aaron Nola start a playoff game
Nola was supposed to be that solid arm for years to come when president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski signed him to an ill-advised seven-year, $172 million contract ahead of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, with Nola playing the part of a punching bag lately, Dombrowski is now forced to scour the trade market in search of an outside addition to take his place.
That outside addition may be just what the Phillies need, just like Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen were in previous summers. However, nothing is free in this world, and Dombrowski will need to part with some amount of prospect capital in order to acquire a decent fourth starter for their playoff run.
The Phillies’ farm system is nothing to write home about, which causes issues for the club’s pursuit of deadline upgrades. In addition to a back-end starting pitcher, Dombrowski will need to be on the hunt for a high-leverage relief arm and an impact bat, bringing the total number of trouble spots up to three.
In all likelihood, that means three separate trades will need to be swung in order to fill those holes. The Phillies just don’t have enough desirable prospects to feasibly pull off three stunners, and even if they do, it will leave their talent pipeline a smoking ruin.
This is a lot of blame to heap onto the feet of Aaron Nola, but the ugly truth is he deserves it. Nola’s bloated contract and unacceptable production has opened up yet another gaping wound on a team that can barely manage the ones they already have. It’s sad to see the decline of a franchise icon, but as Harvey Dent explained, "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
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