According to Bob Nightengale’s notes from yesterday, the Phillies and Twins are going to be playing amongst the corn in 2026. If the Phillies are going to make hay in the playoffs this year, they need Aaron Nola to have more starts like he did Saturday, if not better ($).

It's going to take everyone across the board to pick up the slack that will be felt from Wheeler's absence, but a lot of the ownness is going to fall on the right shoulder of Aaron Nola, the team's former ace who has begun to noticeably decline these past two years.

Saturday night, news dropped that the Phillies were placing ace righty Zack Wheeler on the injured list due to a blood clot in his shoulder area. More on that in a second. Sunday, veteran right-hander Aaron Nola returned from a lengthy stint on the injured list.