Aaron Nola is staying with the Philadelphia Phillies for the foreseeable future.
Nola and the Phillies agreed to a seven-year contract extension on Sunday, the team announced. The pitcher was one of the biggest names on the free-agent market but decided to stay with Philadelphia. His deal is reportedly worth $172 million.
“At the outset of this offseason, we made signing Aaron our top priority,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “We are committed to winning, and having an individual like him in our uniform for years to come only helps us in that regard.
FROM OUTKICK: SHOHEI OHTANI, CONFIRMED GOOD GUY, DONATES 60K BASEBALL GLOVES TO EVERY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN JAPAN
“Aaron has proven to be one of the best and most durable pitchers in our game for a number of years now, and when considering his leadership abilities and his character, it was very important for us to keep him a part of the Phillies family.”
Philadelphia selected Nola with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. He made his debut with the Phillies in July 2015 and became one of the mainstays in the rotation.
AARON JUDGE CREDITS FRESNO STATE FOR BIG LEAGUE SUCCESS DURING JERSEY RETIREMENT CEREMONY
He had a 4.46 ERA in 32 appearances this season along with 202 strikeouts. It’s the third straight year he struck out at least 200 batters. He finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting in 2022.
Now that Nola is locked up, it leaves only a few big-name pitchers on the market. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez are among those set to earn big deals. Shohei Ohtani is also on the market, but he will likely be relegated to hitting only in 2024 due to an arm injury.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Read the full article here
