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Aaron Nola has been a key member of the Philadelphia Phillies rotation for 11 seasons now. The quintessential workhorse in MLB today, he has been named an All-Star once, finished top-five in National League Cy Young voting twice, and top-15 in NL MVP voting once.
With the success that he has had throughout his career, it is very uncharacteristic of him to be eight starts into the year and hold a 4.89 ERA. While he has finished full campaigns with ERAs above 4.00 before, 4.89 would still be the highest mark of his career in that metric, and he also currently holds a career-worst 86 ERA+ across his first 46 innings this year.
You do not expect to see Nola struggle as he has to this point in the year. This is the same pitcher who led baseball in bWAR in 2018 with 9.7. He has topped 180 or more innings a year, every (full) year since 2018. Why is he struggling this year?
Why Aaron Nola is Struggling in 2025?
It all boils down to one thing: who is behind the plate for his starts.
No, not the umpire, who the catcher is. Through Nola's eight starts so far, they have been split evenly between J.T. Realmuto and Rafael Marchan. The results have been drastically different.
With Realmuto behind the plate, Nola has pitched to a 2.49 ERA across 25 1/3 innings with 22 strikeouts. He has also held opposing batters to just a .228/.276/.402 line with a .678 OPS and only five walks.
With Marchan calling his pitches, however, Nola has pitched to a 7.40 ERA across 20 2/3 innings with 28 strikeouts. While he has struck batters out at a higher clip with Marchan as catcher, opposing hitters have still been able to bat .306/.392/.494 with an .886 OPS and 10 walks.
Nola is not the only Phillies' pitcher to struggle with Marchan behind the plate, either. Cristopher Sanchez has been a dark horse Cy Young candidate this year, carrying a 2.27 ERA across his six starts when pitching to Realmuto. It's a 6.35 ERA for Sanchez in his one start with Marchan behind the plate.
If Philadelphia wants Nola to perform as one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball as he is capable of doing, having Marchan catch for him is not the answer.
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Yankees Trade Hours Before Rays Game Draws Attention
The New York Yankees have been busy making moves as the trade deadline looms, and it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down anytime soon. Fresh off the addition of Ryan McMahon to bolster their lineup, the Yankees are shaking things up once again. This time, it’s not about who they’ve brought in, but rather who they’ve decided to part ways with, and it involves a familiar name who spent just a single season in pinstripes. Jack Curry reported on the trade on X saying, “The Yankees have traded Carlos Carrasco to the Braves for a PTBNL [player to be named later] or cash.” Given that the trade took place a few days before the deadline and just hours before a series opener at home against the division rival Tampa Bay Rays, fans had a lot to say. One fan said, "HAL WASNT LYING! THEYRE EXTREMELY ACTIVE." Another fan added, "CASH CONSIDERATIONS IS ON FIRE THIS TRADE DEADLINE!!!!" "CASHMAN YOU BEAST," said a fan. Another fan commented, "Gonna be the new Jessie Chavez" "Weird trade," said a fan not convinced with the move. Another fan said, "what does this look like? a NURSING HOME?! bffr." The Yankees picked up Carrasco on a minor-league deal back in February, and thanks to early injuries to Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, he found himself in the Opening Day rotation. Unfortunately, things didn’t go smoothly. Carrasco struggled in his eight appearances (six starts) with New York, posting a 5.91 ERA and recording 25 strikeouts over 32 innings. He was designated for assignment on May 6 and sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre two days later. He got a brief recall on June 1 but was quickly designated again on June 3, staying in the organization since then. In Triple-A, though, he turned things around, putting up a solid 3.27 ERA in 11 appearances (10 starts) over 52 1/3 innings. While the Yankees are still in the hunt for veteran pitching, Carrasco wasn’t viewed as a big-league option for them. Instead, he now heads to Atlanta, where he’ll have a real shot at earning a rotation spot. Across his MLB career with the Cleveland Guardians, New York Mets and Yankees, Carrasco has a 4.18 ERA in 332 games (283 starts).
Green Bay Packers: 2x Pro Bowler Elgton Jenkins Reveals True Feelings on Position Change, Contract Rumors
One of the biggest stories surrounding the Green Bay Packers this offseason has been the position change, and following absences, of two-time Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins. Early in the spring, it was quite clear that Green Bay had no intention of bringing back 2021 second round pick Josh Myers, who had been the Packers’ starting center since he was drafted. He ended up signing a one-year prove-it deal with the New York Jets. With Myers no longer in the fold, many wondered who the Packers would have play center. Zach Tom has long mentioned as a potential option there, as has second-year lineman Jacob Monk. But, to the shock of many, Green Bay opted to move Jenkins, who (as mentioned) is a two-time Pro Bowl left guard, to the position. They also signed Aaron Banks to a four-year $77 million contract to fill the hole left at left guard with Jenkins moving to center. It Was Reported that Green Bay Packers Star Elgton Jenkins Was Holding Out for a Revised Contract After the Packers announced that Jenkins was going to be moving to center while Banks would be entrenched at left guard, there were a series of reports that came out the two-time Pro Bowler was not happy. It was not that he minded the position switch. After all, he played center in college and filled in at the position in 2021 when Myers was out with an injury. Instead, these reports stated that Jenkins was concerned that the position switch would affect his earning capabilities in the NFL after his contract in Green Bay comes to an end. Centers do not make as much money as guards, and it was believed that Jenkins wanted some extra guarantees from the Packers in exchange for making the switch. And when Jenkins did not report to Green Bay for OTA’s and mandatory mini camp, fans began to worry that they had a real contract holdout on their hands. This was assumed to be the case, too, when Jenkins started training camp on the non-football injury list. Green Bay Packers Center Elgton Jenkins Shoots Down Contract Rumors As it turns out, though, none of these reports and rumors were true. Jenkins returned to practice on Tuesday, participating in individual drills only as he ramps up his activity. He had injured his back lifting weights during the offseason, which is why he started camp on the NFI. As for OTA’s, well, he had some family matters to attend to: As Ryan Wood notes, Jenkins spoke the Packers twice this offseason. The first time when they asked him about switching positions, and the second when he told them he would. What is more, per Wood, Jenkins has been planning a move to center for some time now: This is great news for Green Bay, who will be relying on Jenkins as their longest-tenured lineman, again, to lead the group tasked with protecting Jordan Love and opening holes for the run game.
Blue Jays’ Trade Deadline Plan Surfaces on Monday
The Toronto Blue Jays are not only the best team in baseball, but they just dominated the AL's second-best squad. They beat the Detroit Tigers in three out of four games on the road, winning the series by a combined score of 27-17. Toronto is 8-2 in its last 10 games and now has a 2.5-game lead over the Tigers for the AL's top seed. Furthermore, it hasn't lost a series in two weeks, and it achieved a franchise-record 11-game home win streak before losing to the New York Yankees on July 22. However, the Blue Jays are still looking for help as Thursday's MLB Trade Deadline approaches, via MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. "What little I hear: • Blue Jays are looking for pitching, ideally multiple. What I think I know: • Toronto has a *rare* combo of money, 'now' players and prospects • They rarely add the obvious, most-aggregated players • It’s BS season, and Toronto’s front office is airtight," he reported. Matheson added that the Blue Jays' "financial muscle" could be a major player. Toronto ranks 18th in baseball with a 4.09 ERA and has several pitchers on the IL. Alek Manoah (elbow), Yimi García (ankle), Paxton Schultz (finger), Nick Sandlin (elbow), Ryan Burr (shoulder), Bowden Francis (shoulder), and Ricky Tiedemann (elbow) are all out. Right-hander Chris Bassitt (11-4, 3.88 ERA) will start against Baltimore Orioles right-hander Zach Eflin (6-5, 5.78 ERA) at Camden Yards on Monday night. The two teams will also play a doubleheader on Tuesday before finishing the series on Wednesday.
Jordan Love Can’t Contain Excitement over Packers’ New Weapons
The Green Bay Packers have made bolstering the supporting cast around quarterback Jordan Love a top priority, and this offseason may be the biggest payoff of all. One year removed from signing Josh Jacobs and the former rushing champion, who proceeded to become a driving force of Green Bay’s ground game and offense overall, the Packers loaded up on even more young receivers for Love. Packers’ Jordan Love Opens Up About New Weapons Already with young and ascending pass catchers like Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed, and Tucker Kraft in the fold, the Packers broke a decades long streak of not taking a wide receiver early in the first round when Green Bay selected Matthew Golden at No. 23 overall before rounding back to select receiver Savion Williams in the third round. Love is fired up about the new firepower around him. “I was definitely surprised, going into that first round, having the draft here in Green Bay, and hearing for the first time since 2000-and-whatever getting a receiver,” Love said, via Pro Football Talk. “So I was excited getting Matthew Golden, then Savion, those are two guys that I think are going to add some dynamic weapons to our passing game. We’ve got a lot of weapons.” The onus now falls on Love to maximize the young receiving corps that the Packers have built over the past several seasons. Love is widely viewed as one of the NFL’s rising young quarterbacks, and in 2025, he may finally have the pieces in place to lead a legitimate Super Bowl charge.
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