MLB Insider Says 10 Teams Will Try to Sign Philadelphia Phillies Ace Nola
The Philadelphia Phillies have spent extravagantly in recent years, having inked Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler, Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to lucrative multi-year contracts.
The Phillies shelled out a combined $1.114 billion to those five players plus Taijuan Walker. This winter, the Phillies' front office will be tasked with the challenge of retaining star pitcher Aaron Nola, but it won't be cheap.
Longtime national baseball writer Bob Nightengale recently assessed Nola's free agent market on the Jack Vita Show, with the offseason quickly approaching.
“I think a lot of teams will be in on him,” Nightengale said. “It’s a small market (for pitchers). Obviously, you’ve got Blake Snell. (There are) not a whole lot of guys out there that are in their prime. So it’s kind of funny that the Phillies hadn’t locked him up earlier. Obviously, there’s disagreement with what they think he’s worth. The Phillies spend money. I can’t remember the Phillies being outspent by anybody. But I would think, pretty much every team in baseball would love to have this guy, so I think he’ll have a good eight to ten teams after him, in particularly the big boys who want to spend, whether it’s the San Francisco Giants or the Yankees or Red Sox, or maybe even Houston."
As Nightengale notes, the upcoming free agent pitching market isn't expected to be very deep, as it relates to top-of-the-rotation arms. Shohei Ohtani, Sonny Gray, Snell and Nola are among the best pitchers expected to be available. The thin market should up the value of Nola's next contract.
But Nightengale didn't stop there. He suggested two other potential landing spots, including an arch rival.
“He’s still young enough, he could still command a seven-year deal for over $160 or $170 (million)," Nightengale said. "And I wouldn’t rule out Atlanta. People always want to play in Atlanta. They would like to have a reinforcement like that. They have a lot of young kids. They don’t have to have him. And let’s not rule out the Texas Rangers. But yeah, I would think he’d like to have a seven-year deal, probably around $170 to $200 million range.”
Through 29 starts this season, Nola has a 12-9 record and 4.64 ERA. Last season, he finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting. Since making his big league debut in 2015, he has placed top-7 in Cy Young voting three different times.
You can catch the full conversation with Bob Nightengale on the Jack Vita Show here:
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