Red Sox Fans Should Have Eye On Phillies As Potential Target Takes Mound

The Red Sox, of course, missed the playoffs. That means another October of watching other teams duke it out for the World Series.

That’s obviously not what you’re looking for, but it’s not to say there’s nothing to get invested in as the postseason gets started. At the very least, it’s an opportunity to get an up-close look at potential offseason targets after spending the entire summer focused on Boston.

There might not be a more intriguing potential offseason target than Aaron Nola, who will take the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies as they look to close out their wild-card series with Miami in Game 2 on Wednesday.

Nola had a decent 2023 campaign, going 12-9 with a 4.46 ERA in 32 starts for the Phillies. Good, not great. In that regard, the 30-year-old probably wishes he had hit the market last winter following a season in which he led the majors in strikeout-to-walk ratio to go along with an ERA+ of 123 while striking out 235 in 205 innings. He finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting — despite an 11-13 record that obviously doesn’t tell the entire story.

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The 2023 season was a struggle by comparison. The biggest reason his ERA jumped more than a run over the course of the year was an inability to keep the ball in the ballpark. Nola allowed 32 home runs, by far the most of his career, and only five qualified starters allowed more dingers per nine innings.

The big question for the Red Sox and any other team that might have interest in Nola’s services this winter is whether that’s just a blip on the radar. While he’s on the wrong side of 30, there’s reason to believe he can be closer to his 2022 self, at least in the short term. Nola’s hard-hit rate against increased, as did his flyball rate, which obviously isn’t a great recipe for success. However, it’s not like his stuff saw a major drop-off. His velocity was consistent across the board, and the movement on most of his pitches was in line with what he’s been in the past.

So, what gives? Essentially, it came down to command.

Nola says he just hasn’t had all of his pitches working together at the same time the way he did last season.

“I mean, sometimes it’s the curveball and the two-seam,” he explained to The Athletic. “The four-seam felt terrible. Sometimes it was the four-seam and the curveball. Sometimes it was the change and the four-seam. Yeah, that part has been inconsistent. I tried to grind through it as best as possible and compete.”

He pitched well to end the year and can really improve his stock with a big postseason. Nola got roughed up in his final three starts of the Phillies’ World Series run and will look to get right in that regard, too.

The Red Sox showed in 2023 that they desperately need starting pitching. Only six teams logged fewer innings from their starters in 2023, a group that combined to go an average of 34 games below .500. Nola, as he said himself, found a way to give the Phillies innings, which is nothing new. Only Gerrit Cole has logged more innings since the start of 2018.

Obviously, that sort of workload must be considered when it comes to wear and tear. And the Sox can’t get in the business of committing to a 30-year-old pitcher for seven years or anything like that.

But they need someone dependable, and few have been able to make that claim like Nola has for the bulk of his career.

He can really improve his pitch, no pun intended, Wednesday.