Aaron Nola's 2025 season hasn't exactly gone as planned for the Philadelphia Phillies. The veteran right-hander has been abysmal, even after spending three months on the injured list. After his most recent implosion against the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week, questions are being raised, and rightly so, about his suitability for the postseason.
Where does Nola fit in the Phillies' playoff plans? It's difficult to envision him as part of the starting rotation. He'll have to somehow sort himself out and put together an incredibly strong finish to be considered, one would think.
Despite Nola's experience and the Phillies not having another postseason-pitchable right-hander to break up the lefty triumvirate of Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo, they can't in good faith march Nola out for a postseason start the way he's throwing.
After allowing five runs before recording an out in the first inning on Wednesday, he managed to settle in and get through five frames allowing one more run, but now has a 6.78 ERA on the season. Nola has surrendered four or more runs in three of his four outings since returning from the IL.
Ruben Amaro Jr. thinks there's a place for Aaron Nola in Phillies' postseason bullpen
Former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. still thinks Nola has a place on the Phillies' postseason roster, however. Amaro sees Nola making the roster as a bullpen arm, as he told Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury on The Phillies Show podcast recently.
"I think that in that setting, he probably could [pitch out of the bullpen]," Amaro Jr. said. "I would think that he would still make the roster because he's got the experience. I think that that means a lot to Rob Thomson, that means a lot to this organization.
"He also can be a guy who can piggyback if someone breaks down early. He can jump in there and sort of save some innings if they feel like he's not going to be one of the starters and not sharp enough to be one of the top three or four in that rotation."
With Aaron Nola's struggles this season, could we see him come out of the bullpen in the postseason? pic.twitter.com/8oobn8M46Z
— ThePhilliesShow (@ThePhilliesShow) September 4, 2025
The one problem with having Nola throw out of the bullpen is that his first innings have been downright atrocious this season. He has allowed 14 runs in 13 first innings, for a 9.69 ERA. He has also given up 11 runs in 12 1/3 third innings, so there's more than just his opening inning to worry about.
But coming out of the bullpen, as Salisbury notes, will magnify Nola's first-inning struggles. Amaro admits that while Nola might not be effective, but he can still be an arm to eat up innings.
"He's a guy that can eat up some innings," Amaro said. "He's still a fresh arm. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to be effective, but I think that his experience and the fact that he's been there and done it, he can at least provide some length to that bullpen and give it a little more depth."
Whether that's the best use of a roster spot is another question. Despite moving into third on the Phillies all-time strikeout list at the end of August, there hasn't been much to get excited about in Nola's performance this year.
Only time will tell what Nola's postseason role will be. While he hasn't pitched well enough to automatically claim a roster spot, it would be shocking to see the Phillies leave him off the roster entirely. For the Phillies' sake, we should all be hoping that Nola turns things around in a hurry and makes the decision easier by the time October rolls around.