The Philadelphia Phillies continued their busy offseason yesterday by extending ace Aaron Nola to a four-year, $45 million deal.
The extension appears to be a steal for the Phillies, as Nola is now signed through his final two years of arbitration as well as another two seasons in which he would have hit the open market as a free agent.
By agreeing to a club option in the fourth year of the extension, Nola has likely pushed back his free agency by two years. When he finally hits the open market after the 2022 season, he will be entering his age-31 season.
Most starting pitchers struggle to score lucrative contracts, and Rosenthal cites Dallas Keuchel as a prime example of this notion in the current free agent pool. By giving up an additional two years of free agency, Nola may be missing on an opportunity to cash in with a bigger contract before he reaches the 30-year-old plateau.
Another criticism of the deal struck by Nola and his agent Joe Longo of Paragon Sports is his willingness to give up arbitration.
Nola–who posted the highest WAR among all MLB pitchers and finished third in NL Cy Young voting–was expected to be the next key figure in boosting first-year arbitration salaries for premium starters that have not won a Cy Young.
Instead, Nola has made it clear that the money is not his highest priority. By locking up their ace for the next four seasons, the Phillies have strengthened their window of contention while also adding payroll flexibility in future offseasons.
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