Nola’s struggles
Back in February, Aaron Nola expressed optimism about his chances for a bounce-back season.
It hasn’t happened, of course. He is 3-5 with a 6.04 ERA in 17 starts. He has a 6.02 ERA in 34 starts the past two seasons.
Nola was asked this spring in Clearwater, Fla., if he gave any consideration to incorporating a new pitch into his repertoire, like Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo ad in recent seasons. Nola said he did not.
“I can make my curveball into a sweeper,” he said. “I can make it go left a little bit more because of my arm angle. It just depends on if I use my thumb on it a little bit more. The more thumb I use, the more depth-y it gets. I’ve been grateful to stay healthy for a little while. The last thing I want to do is tinker with another pitch. I know it’s not a for-sure thing [that a pitcher will get hurt] throwing a new pitch. A lot of guys don’t. I just want to crisp up my pitches.”
But Nola threw four sliders on June 13 in Milwaukee. He has thrown 11 sliders in three starts since.
It is a new pitch, which is an acknowledgement that Nola must try something different to be even just incrementally more competitive on the mound.
“I feel like I throw so many curveballs,” Nola said. “I feel like we saw it [Monday night]. If one pops [out of his hand], usually it gets barreled.”
Nola shelved his cutter for a slider. It’s not a bad idea. Opponents had hit .419 with a .645 slugging percentage against the cutter. Super-small sample size, but they’re 0-for-4 against the slider.
“Just to try to give [hitters] another look,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “Just gives you another pitch to work with, maybe something to get them to think about a little bit. It's been pretty good for him. He’s mixed it in. He’s not using it a ton yet, but he seems pretty comfortable with it. There’s certain guys that he'll use it on, and so far it's been a good change of pace.”
Nola’s performance over the next few weeks could influence how the Phillies attack the Trade Deadline. The Phillies could use a right-handed bat and a high-leverage reliever, but they might feel compelled to invest resources into upgrading the rotation because they’re not getting enough innings from Nola and the No. 5 starter spot.
