The Philadelphia Phillies made it their priority to sign Aaron Nola to an extension. On Sunday, they fulfilled that priority by re-signing the former All-Star to a 7-year deal. USA Today Sports’ Bob Nightengale was the first to report the deal.
The deal is still pending a physical for the 30-year-old. Should that be passed, Nola will likely spend the rest of his career with the Phillies. With the return of Nola the Phillies rotation will continue to feature two top-flight starters at the front of their rotation, with Zack Wheeler as the ace. Nola has thrown over 1,000 innings since 2019. The second most in baseball, behind Gerrit Cole.
Nola was stellar in the 2023 postseason. That took some sting away from his down year in the regular season and boosted his free-agent stock. Reports state that the Atlanta Braves were among those teams interested in Nola. Nola finished the postseason with a 2.35 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 23 innings. Each time that Nola has had a down year, he has bounced back. Giving Aaron Nola the extension puts the Phillies in a good spot. They won’t have to worry about losing him and he won’t have to worry about his contract situation.
The seventh overall pick out of LSU in 2014 had a fast track to the MLB. Making his debut with the Phillies a year later. He didn’t reach his peak until 2018, when he posted a career-low ERA of 2.37. That same year, he led the MLB in pitching bWAR and finished third in the NL Cy Young race. Nola has made 235 career starts with the Phillies… including 32 in each of the past three seasons.
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