Yahoo sports reports:
The Philadelphia Phillies have signed their young ace starting pitcher Aaron Nola to a four-year, $45 million extension.
#Phillies on verge of signing RHP Aaron Nola to a four-year, $45M extension with a club option, sources tell me and @MattGelb.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 13, 2019
Nola, 25, had a breakout year on the bump for the Phillies in 2018. He pitched to a 2.37 ERA, a career-best in four major league seasons, over 212.1 innings, a career high. He placed third in the National League Cy Young voting in 2018, behind Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.
The deal also includes a club option for a fifth year that would take him through his age 30 season.
Looking at the numbers, it’s a very team friendly deal. Especially when you compare it to the six-year, $140 million deal Patrick Corbin signed with the Washington Nationals. Corbin is four years older than Nola, has a spottier track record, and a lower ceiling than Nola. Nola’s worth more than the Phillies are giving him in the first few years of his deal, but the uncertainty of arbitration means his salaries in those years are wildly unpredictable. This extension gives Nola security, and allows him to avoid arbitration.
Aside from wanting to lock down their young ace, there was no urgent reason for the Phillies and Nola to ink this extension. Nola had three years of arbitration left before he would have been a free agent at the conclusion of the 2021 season. But this deal gives the Phillies fewer things to worry about in the coming years. They know exactly what they’re paying Nola instead of heading to arbitration for the next few years, and they don’t have to worry about him hitting free agency until 2023 if they choose.
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