For Aaron Nola, this has to be the turning point.

Over the past two years, Nola has battled injuries and inconsistencies. Once viewed as the Phillies’ No. 1 starter, or even on equal footing with Zack Wheeler, Nola has taken a back seat to Cristopher Sanchez and possibly even Jesus Luzardo with his second-half rise.

Aside from the Phillies, is the World Baseball Classic (WBC) appealing enough to watch or should it change its format?

In this version of my Behind the Plate column, I will take a look at Nola’s career along with his possibilities this season. In addition, I’ll also look at the WBC, the Phillies’ hole in the outfield, and recount the career of a former Jim Thorpe diamond gem.

Aaron’s Way ... In 2024, Nola made a league-high 33 starts and compiled an overall 14-8, 3.57 slate, his second-best win total since 2018 when he was 17-6 with a 2.37 ERA and earned an All-Star berth. He also gave up a league-leading 30 homers. Still, Nola finished 11th in the Cy Young voting.

Last year, Nola’s game was a disaster from the start. He carried a 1-5 record with a 5.51 ERA through April. Nola made three starts in May before he was shelved with a right ankle and then a rib injury derailed him. There was plenty of speculation that the club was trying to shut him down for the season.

Nola never quite regained his form. He returned on Aug. 17, and made eight starts along the way. He went 4-3 and pitched to a 5.91 ERA. He ended the year with a 5-10 mark and a 6.10 ERA over just 94.1 innings.

Trust the Process ... However, Nola gave the Phillies hope for the postseason when he twirled an eight-inning masterpiece in a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins Sept. 26 in which he took a perfect game into the sixth inning. He allowed two hits, struck out nine and walked two over eight innings.

In the postseason, Nola made one start that most fans were worried about, and was pulled after two innings with three strikeouts.

Just The Facts ... Nola burst onto the scene in 2015 when he went 6-2 with a 3.59 ERA in 13 starts. Through his first four years, Nola went 41-28 with a 3.35 ERA. He topped the 200-inning mark for the first time in 2018 with 212.

However since then, Nola is 68-61 with a 4.07 ERA. Nola signed a seven-year, $172 million deal in November 2023 that paid him $24.1 million per year.

In 2024, Nola carried a 3.94 FIP — a stat measuring a pitcher’s effectiveness based solely on home runs, walks, hit-by-pitches, and strikeouts — a rate that soared to 4.58 in 2025. His best was a 2.58, when he had a career-high 235 strikeouts in 2022 and went 12-9 with a 3.25 ERA in 32 starts.

Quick Quiz ... What former Phillies catcher led the league in caught stealing twice with more than 55 percent, and also hit 1.000 for another team in a World Series?

Mixed Feelings ... In a recent Times News Facebook poll, 45 percent of readers believed Nola would win six to 10 games, 35 percent voted 11-15 games, 10 percent saw 16-plus, and 10 percent had zero to five.

Hope Springs Eternal ... It’s early, but Nola was impressive in his first two spring showings.

In his first appearance Feb. 27 in a split-squad game against the Miami Marlins, Nola hurled two innings and allowed one earned run, two hits, no walks, and recorded two strikeouts. His fastball averaged 91.7, and it jumped slightly to 92.7 in a matchup against Team Canada.

During his second start, Nola pitched three innings, didn’t allow any walks or earned runs, and compiled four strikeouts.

Nola is playing for Team Italy in the WBC, but it appears he could be on track to being an effective double-digit winner this season.

PED=MIA ... It hasn’t been officially announced, but all signs point to Phillies’ outfielder Johan Rojas receiving an 80-game suspension for PED use. Rojas has never been known for his bat, but has a steady glove.

So, what do the Phillies do? Otto Kemp has had a good spring, and the club picked up journeymen Bryan De La Cruz and Dylan Moore as non-roster invitees.

Vet Pedro Leon only has 71 career at-bats, and number eight prospect Gabriel Rincones could be in the mix.

There’s not much left in free agency? Do you want Max Kepler back?

There is some talk the Phils have looked into 29-year-old left-handed hitting Twins outfielder Trevor Lanrack, who hit .250 last season with a career-high 17 homers and 60 RBIs.

Is It The World Baseball Classic Or The Boring Baseball Classic? ... The WBC recently began, and how much of the world is watching? Better yet, how much of the US is watching? Spring training baseball isn’t a ratings grabber.

The 2023 WBC championship game between the US and Japan drew 5.2 million, and it jumped to 6.5 in the final 15 minutes when Shoehi Ohtani struck out then Angels’ teammate Mike Trout to give Japan the victory.

Japan has won the tournament in 2006 and 2009.

This year, FOX again will broadcast the games, and the Yanks’ Aaron Judge was named captain as a major-selling point. Maybe the USA’s success in men’s and women’s Olympic hockey can keep the patriotic juices flowing.

You had to be a baseball purist to watch the USA’s opening-game 15-5 rout of Brazil last Friday night. Yet this is a superstar-laced roster with the Phils’ Bruce Harper and Kyle Schwarber among others like Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr.

Here’s an idea ... Play the WBC instead of the MLB All-Star Game. Let’s face it. The All-Star Game — all of them — have become unwatchable. The Home Run Derby is overhyped.

Take two weeks off in July, and there’s a better chance you’ll get some good viewing numbers. You can start the season a bit earlier or reduce the amount of games, to say, 154. Players will be in the middle of their season, and that can be either good or bad.

Phillies’ International Dateline ... Besides Nola, Harper and Schwarber, here is a list of other Phillies in the WBC: US - Brad Keller; Venezuela - José Alvarado and Jesús Luzardo (reserve list); Brazil - Gabriel Barbosa; Netherlands - Jaydenn Estanista; Israel - Max Lazar and Garrett Stubbs; Australia - Mitch Neunborn; Italy - Dante Nori; Mexico - Alan Rangel (reserve list) and Taijuan Walker; Dominican Republic - Cristopher Sánchez; and Panama - Edmundo Sosa.

Alumni Notes ... In each column, I will recall a former player, manager or coach from the diamond days of the past.

Pitcher Vance Worley was a third-round choice in the 2008 draft, and made his debut in 2010. Worley played three seasons with the Phillies, going 18-13 with a 3.50 ERA in 46 starts. He was traded to the Twins in December 2012 for outfielder Ben Revere.

From there, Worley played three more seasons with solo stops at Minnesota, Miami and Baltimore. He also had a cup of coffee with the Mets and Pirates before being released.

In eight seasons, Worley went 35-36 with a 4.09 ERA in 97 starts over 163 games.

Worley is pitching for Great Britain in the WBC.

Scrapbook ... In each column, I will peel back the pages and review the career of a former local standout.

James “Bucky” Rader was an outstanding hitter at Jim Thorpe in the early 1950s. He also posted five stellar years in the junior American Legion, along with two years playing semi-pro baseball, and hit .400 in the process.

After several offers, Rader signed with the Yankees in 1954. Rader was assigned to their Midwest League farm team where he and Tony Kubek were being groomed to take over for the retiring Phil Rizzuto in New York.

Kubek won the job and Rader was assigned to the Kansas City A’s, but declined and instead played two more years in the minors before he retired. Later, he played baseball and football on service championship teams in Korea.

Rader passed away at age 70 in 2006.

Quick Quiz Answer ... Clay Dalrymple, who played for the Phils from 1960-68, had a 48.8 percent of throwing out base runners in his career, and led the league in 1961 (55.6%) and in 1967 (57.7).

He also is part of an elite group that hit 1.000 in the World Series, when he went 2-for-2 for Baltimore in 1969.

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