After their loss to Team Venezuela, Aaron Nola has thrown his final pitch for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Now, his focus will shift back to the Philadelphia Phillies and preparing for the 2026 season.
Once he returns to spring training, Nola is expected to make one more pitching appearance before Opening Day, via Jon Morosi of the MLB Network. While nothing is confirmed, Morosi points to Sunday as the likely day for the right-hander to pitch.
While his team came up short 4-2, Nola ended his time in the WBC on a high note. Throwing 59 pitches, Nola put up four innings of one-run baseball, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out three.
The Phillies are hopefully he'll be able to carry his WBC momentum into the regular season. Nola pitched two games, a WBC-high nine innings total, racking up a 1.00 ERA and an 8/2 K/BB ratio.
It's a stark difference to his performance in Philadelphia during the 2025 season. Over 17 starts, Nola held a 6.01 ERA and a 97/28 K/BB ratio. Still, the Phillies aren't going to write him off after one bad season. Especially since he was dealing with a rib injury.
Over his entire 11 years with the Phillies, Nola has put up a 3.83 ERA and a 1,876/449 K/BB ratio. He was named an All-Star back in 2018.
The WBC proved that Nola still has plenty left in the tank and is ready to return to form. After one more spring training tune up, Philadelphia will get to see if the righty can bounce back in 2026.
