Phillies Teammate Believes Aaron Nola Has To Accomplish 2 Things To Succeed

The Philadelphia Phillies need Aaron Nola to figure things out in two regards to find success on the mound.

May 4, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The 2026 MLB regular season has been tumultuous for Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola.

Many of his struggles in 2025 were attributed to the injuries he dealt with. This year, no such excuse exists, as by all accounts, the veteran right-hander is healthy. But his performance has fallen off a cliff.

Through 10 starts, he has been ineffective for the Phillies. Nola has thrown 50.2 innings with a 6.04 ERA, 1.559 WHIP and 4.46 FIP. A little bit of bad luck could certainly be contributing to his lack of production, but a lot of issues are self-inflicted.

Specifically, an inability to locate his pitches effectively, which is clogging up the basepaths and getting him in trouble. However, catcher J.T. Realmuto, who was behind the plate for Nola’s most recent start against the Cincinnati Reds, doesn’t believe his teammate is far off from getting on track.

J.T. Realmuto thinks Aaron Nola is close to getting on track

Aug 10, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) and catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) walk to the dugout for the start of action against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

“I feel like he’s just a small adjustment away from being … you saw how good he was in the first inning today,” Realmuto said, via Charlotte Varnes and Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription required). “It’s still in there. It all comes down to command and being able to throw the ball where he wants.”

Things got off to a wonderful start for the veteran righty. He came out of the gate firing, needing only 11 pitches to get through the top of the first inning. Star shortstop Elly De La Cruz was struck out, frozen by a 94 mph fastball.

Pitching backward worked against De La Cruz and JJ Bledlay. A left-handed hitter, Nola started him off with a changeup to get ahead of the count. A cutter was fouled off after that, and another changeup was used to put him away.

Coming into that matchup, there were two clear Achilles’ heels in Nola’s performance: getting out lefties and controlling his fastball. That first inning was a sign that there is still something in there to offer, but it was a fleeting feeling.

Aaron Nola not showing much to turn things around

Apr 14, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Reds would eventually get to the veteran, chasing him from the game after five innings. He didn’t issue a walk and didn’t allow a home run, which was a positive step. Left-handed hitters went 1-for-10 against him in the outing.

Despite all of those successes, he still gave up eight hits and four earned runs and was saddled with the loss.

Something has to be done to help get Nola on track because the current game plan isn’t working, and he isn’t giving his team much of a chance to win any time he takes the mound currently.

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