The Aaron Nola problem has become so big for the Philadelphia Phillies, that the club can no longer ignore it. Following Wednesday's loss to the Reds, Nola once again had a rough outing. He allowed four runs in five innings, making it 13 runs allowed over his last 13.1 innings. But the struggles have been there for a few seasons now. This isn't a newfound issue.
Following a 2025 season that saw his ERA inflate above 6.00, Nola is right back in that same territory again. At this point, it begs the question: What do the Phillies need to do to either fix Nola, or send him off to the bullpen? Phillies manager Don Mattingly doesn't seem to think there is a reason to panic. Fans vehemently disagree.
Phillies manager Don Mattingly says he remains confident in veteran starter Aaron Nola.
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) May 21, 2026
Nola, 32, is 2-4 with a 6.04 ERA in 10 starts after going 5-10 with a 6.01 ERA in 17 starts last season. Nola is under contract with the Phillies through 2030 after signing a 7-year, $172M… pic.twitter.com/55KqKx5mw8
Don Mattingly fans the flames surrounding Aaron Nola's struggles, and the clock is ticking
It's great to see Mattingly backing one of his players. Understandably, he isn't someone who will publicly bury a guy on his own team, but fans are starting to not believe what Mattingly is saying. It's a hard pill to swallow to accept that the team sees no problem in Nola's decline.
Nola showed small glimpses of hope in the World Baseball Classic, but that's really it. In 10 starts this season, Phillies fans can point to two starts when Nola looked like an All-Star. Besides that, it's become normal to see him allowing four, five, or six runs on any given night. That cannot continue happening, but it will if Philadelphia pretends that Nola is still a top-end ace.
His only successful pitches this season have been his knuckle curveball and his changeup. Opponents are hitting .432 against his fastball, .375 against his cutter, and .324 against his sinker. Batters can expect for the off-speed to come, but they don't need to swing at it. They know one of the fastball-sinker-cutter pitches are eventually coming. That's when they can feast.
The solution? Nola either reinvents himself as a starting pitcher, whether that means he axes a few pitches from his arsenal, or he tinkers with them, or he goes to the bullpen as a middle-innings guy — at least temporarily. The Phillies cannot afford for Nola to figure things out now that we are a third of the way through the season. Philadelphia is already play come-from-behind baseball. The team needs to find consistency, and they are not getting that from their veteran right-hander right now.
Add us as a preferred source on Google