Aaron Nola turns down another big offer, accepts new deal with Phillies (Report)

Aaron Nola turns down another big offer, accepts new deal with Phillies (Report)

Philadelphia Phillies starter Aaron Nola, one of the best free agent starters on the free agent market, remains with the Phils and is a potential target for the Red Sox.
(AP Photo/Bryn Anderson)AP

The first major free agent signing of the offseason has been completed, with right-handed starter Aaron Nola agreeing to a deal that will keep him with the Phillies in Philadelphia. Nola has signed a seven-year, $172 million contract, according to multiple reports.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported this.

Nola, 30, spent parts of nine seasons with the Phillies, posting a career-high 90 wins, 71 losses and a 3.72 ERA.
He was one of the most prominent long holders in the game.

In each of his last five full seasons, he has made at least 32 starts and topped 200 innings three times.

He recently enjoyed a strong postseason, posting 3 wins, 1 loss and a 2.35 ERA in 4 games, increasing his market value.

Nola won’t pitch in 2024, but he’s one of the few top receivers on the free agent market outside of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani.
Other top free agent pitchers include Sonny Gray and Jordan Montgomery.

The transaction brings Nola’s average annualized value (AAV) to $24.5 million.
Some predicted he could reach $25 million in AAV, or $200 in total, but Nola turned down big offers from elsewhere to stay in Philadelphia.

The Phils’ rival Atlanta Braves could be one of the teams involved in a trade, which could prompt the Phils to move aggressively to keep him. It is unclear if the Red Sox have made an offer to Nola.

Boston has made it clear that starting pitching is their top priority this winter.
Fielder tried to extend Nola’s workouts last spring, but negotiations broke down and the two sides drifted apart.

At the general manager’s meeting in Scottsdale two weeks ago, Dombrowski was asked if he had any trouble signing Nola.

“I don’t know if that would have dampened our excitement last spring (if we weren’t successful),” Dombrowski said. “I think there’s a sense of reality that anything can happen.

I don’t believe in anything and it’s not easy. It was easier to sign him last year.
Because we were the only club that could negotiate with him.
Now he’s still 29, so it won’t be easy from that point of view.

“But who knows?
We’ll see what’s up with him and he’ll see what’s up with him and we’ll go from there.
It doesn’t make (resigning) any easier.

In the end, Nola’s desire to stick with the team that selected him in the 2014 draft won out.