CLEARWATER, Fla. _ Aaron Nola has agreed to a multiyear contract extension with the Phillies, the team announced Wednesday.
Nola will sign a four-year, $45 million deal, according to a league source, effectively covering his three seasons of arbitration eligibility and one year of free agency. The contract includes a team option for the 2023 season, in which Nola will turn 30.
The 25-year-old ace had been seeking a $6.75 million salary this season, while the Phillies countered with a $4.5 million offer. The sides were scheduled to go to an arbitration hearing Thursday.
Last month, Nola said he was content to go year-to-year through the arbitration process and hadn't thought about a long-term deal. But it's likely he was compelled to reach an agreement after seeing a lethargic, even depressed free-agent market in back-to-back years.
It took until mid-March last year for Jake Arrieta to sign a five-year, $75 million deal with the Phillies. This year, lefty Dallas Keuchel leads a contingent of free-agent pitchers who remain unsigned. And of course, neither Bryce Harper nor Manny Machado has signed a contract yet even though both megastars are only 26 years old.
Keuchel's case might have been of particular interest to Nola. Three years ago, after winning a Cy Young Award, Keuchel received a $7.25 million salary from the Houston Astros, a record for a first-year arbitration-eligible pitcher. Even if Nola had won his case and gotten a $6.75 million award, he wouldn't have topped Keuchel and still would've faced potential free-agent uncertainty down the road.
"It's crazy to think that these guys haven't been signed _ over 100 guys," Nola said at a Phillies winter caravan event last month. "I'll bet they're frustrated because it's getting close to spring training. I'll bet a lot of guys want to know where they're at. I'll bet it's hard to be with a team for a while and then be a free agent and not be signed anywhere and go through the offseason working out and not be signed.
"I know some guys signed really, really late last year. Jake signed really late. I'm sure it's tough for them."
Nola emerged as an elite starter last season, posting a 2.37 ERA in 33 starts for the Phillies. He struck out 224 in 212 1/3 innings and finished third in the majors with 0.975 walks/hits per innings pitched. He also finished third in the National League Cy Young voting, behind the New York Mets' Jacob deGrom and two-time winner Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals.
