The St. Louis Cardinals clinched a losing record by dropping a home contest to the Philadelphia Phillies. Aaron Nola started the 5-4 win, allowing two runs in 4.2 innings. If the Cardinals could get it their way, he will be suiting up for them next year.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said after the trade deadline that the team will heavily pursue pitching this offseason. After trading away Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty and Jordan Hicks on top of having Adam Wainwright in his final season, St. Louis lacks pitching depth for next year.

Nola is projected to be very high on the Cardinals' offseason list of free-agent targets, according to Derrick, Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 30-year-old is the type of experienced hurler they hope will bring them back into the postseason.

“The Cardinals, according to sources, intend to make an overture to attempt and sign him, and they’re aware of the auction that will develop for the right-hander. He’s had the consistent 200-inning, 200-strikeout seasons they covet, and he’s had postseason success – right here in river city, right in front of their eyes,” writes Goold, referring in his last sentence to Nola's scoreless outing in last year's Wild Card round.

Aaron Nola has the reputation of a star, as he was named a 2018 All-Star and has received Cy Young award votes in three of the last five seasons, including last year. But 2023 has not been a good one for the Phillies' No. 2 starter. He has a 4.62 ERA for the season, is allowing home runs at a career-worst rate and has shown a tendency to get shelled later in his starts, posting a 5.54 ERA in innings three through six.

In years past, though, Nola has been a strikeout artist with his collection of off-speed pitches. He entered this season with a 3.47 ERA since 2018. The Phillies pitcher has been durable, too, and the Cardinals clearly see a talented veteran they believe they can get the best out of. If they are unsuccessful in their potential pursuit, they still have tons of backup options.

This MLB offseason will see a ton of big-name pitchers hit the open market even with Shohei Ohtani being shut down from pitching for next year. Nola (along with Montgomery and Flaherty) will join Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn on the open market. Lance Lynn, Charlie Morton, Eduardo Rodriguez, Marcus Stroman and Alex Cobb are among the others who could join them.