The Philadelphia Phillies certainly had a busy off-season. Things began rolling in December when Philadelphia acquired shortstop Jean Segura in a deal with the Seattle Mariners. The Phillies also headed into Spring Training with a bang by trading for J.T. Realmuto one week prior to pitchers and catchers reporting. Spring training officially kicked off for Philadelphia Tuesday, but that does not mean the deals have stopped. The team announced Wednesday that star starting pitcher Aaron Nola has been signed to a four-year extension through 2022.
#Phillies and RHP Aaron Nola have agreed to a four-year contract through the 2022 season. The deal also includes a club option for the 2023 season. pic.twitter.com/E5ocTPOwqA
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 13, 2019
Aaron Nola Signed Long Term
The four-year deal with a fifth-year option is a nice win for Philadelphia. Nola is coming off a 17-6 season with a 2.37 ERA in 212.1 innings pitched. He led the Phillies and finished ninth in Major League Baseball with 224 strikeouts.
Entering his age-26 season, Nola looks to be one of the best developing pitchers in all of baseball. He was a distant third-place finisher in Cy Young voting to Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom in 2018. However, it should be noted that Nola’s 10.5 bWAR led all three and was nearly a full win better than deGrom’s 9.6. Securing Nola’s services through 2022 with an option for 2023 is a slam dunk for a team looking to win in the suddenly ultra-competitive NL East.
Breakdown
According to Jeff Passan’s breakdown of the financials, Nola will make $45 million through 2022 with the 2023 option worth $16 million. The option also has a $4.25 million buyout.
All things considered, this is an extremely team-friendly contract for Philadelphia. Even with the fifth-year option, Nola’s average salary for the length of the deal checks in at $11.35 million. By comparison, the Washington Nationals recently signed Patrick Corbin to a six-year deal with an average cost of $23.33 million.
Keeping Aaron Nola in Philadelphia is a win no matter what. Keeping him at such an affordable cost also means the Phillies may not be done adding to their roster. Manny Machado and Bryce Harper remain on the open market, and bringing one of them onboard remains a legitimate possibility.
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