Is a contract extension for Aaron Nola a possibility this offseason?

It will be the Phillies’ easiest decision of the offseason. Pick up Aaron Nola’s 2023 option? Of course.

But what about a contract extension?

Nola, who will start the Phillies’ first home playoff game on Friday since Oct. 7, 2011, had the second-best year of his career, posting a 3.25 ERA and 235 strikeouts in 205 innings. Then, he rewrote the narrative that he doesn’t rise to the moment late in the season. Not only did he pitch 6⅔ scoreless innings Oct. 3 in Houston to win the game that clinched the Phillies’ first playoff spot since 2011, but he threw another 6⅔ scoreless innings in the series-clincher in the wild-card round in St. Louis.

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With a solid outing Friday, Nola could pitch the Phillies to the brink of the NL Championship Series.

“He’s worth every penny,” manager Rob Thomson said the other day.

The Phillies hold a $16 million option on Nola for next year. In July, a week before the trade deadline, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said “there’s a pretty good chance” that it would be exercised “if he keeps pitching the way he is and he’s healthy.”

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But it’s possible the Phillies could discuss extending Nola’s contract before he’s able to sniff free agency. It’s unclear what a potential deal would look like, although San Diego right-hander Joe Musgrove’s recent five-year, $100 million extension may be a fair comparison. Musgrove is seven months older than Nola and has a 3.79 career ERA and 1.169 WHIP, compared to Nola’s 3.60 and 1.125 marks. The difference: Nola has been far more durable, throwing 1,228 innings compared to Musgrove’s 859.