Phillies press pause on Aaron Nola contract extension conversations, for now
Both parties are expected to resume talks at the end of the season according to Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Conversations with right-handed starter Aaron Nola’s camp about a potential contract extension have come to a halt for now, according to Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
Dombrowski, speaking to media members on Saturday, said that the team is “open-minded” to resuming conversations at the end of the season. Dombrowski said he was hopeful through negotiations, but not optimistic. He declined to share any details about what the sticking point in the negotiations was.
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”We think the world of Aaron,” Dombrowski said. “It’s something we’ve talked long and hard about. It’s a situation — I think the world of him, quality pitcher, quality human being, but sometimes you get to this point where you’re not able to consummate a deal that both sides feel comfortable [with].
”We’re very open-minded to trying to sign him at the end of the season. We’re hopeful that he will remain a Phillie for a long time. We’re also in a spot where of course he’s not a free agent, he’ll be pitching for us all year, including Opening Day; I’m looking forward to him having a big year. We figured we would address it at this point so you’re aware of what the circumstances are.“
”We had good communication with the Phillies,” said Nola’s agent, Joe Longo. “We just couldn’t agree at this time. We’ll pick up the conversation again at the end of the season.”
“Sometimes it comes to that, we’ll talk at the end of the season,” Nola said. “I’m focused on this year. We want to win, so just focused on having a good season and having fun with these guys.
“We definitely tried to get it done, but it just didn’t work out right now. Doesn’t mean it’s over, by any means. We’ll talk at the end of the season and see what happens.”
Dombrowski said that the Phillies started negotiating with Nola’s camp closer to spring training. He said that Nola’s camp knew of the team’s interest in trying to get a deal done right after the World Series ended. Dombrowski prefers not to negotiate with players during the season, to avoid distractions.
”That’s always really been my belief,” Dombrowski said. “Not just with this one, but with other contracts. I do find that — you’ve had all winter to get it done, so if you were going to get it done, it generally would have happened. You need to focus on the field and be in that position. I think it’s important from a club perspective that players focus on the field at that time.”
Nola doesn’t believe it’ll be a distraction.
“I try not let anything get to me, no matter what it is,” he said. “Go out and try to pitch my game and focus on executing pitches. That’s all I can do.”
Nola is the Phillies’ longest-tenured pitcher. He has been a member of the organization since 2014 when he was taken in the first round of the MLB draft. He has been a workhorse, giving the Phillies three 200-plus inning-seasons over the past eight years, and 1,228 1/3 innings overall.
Over those eight big-league seasons, he has a 78-62 record and a 3.60 ERA with 1,380 strikeouts. Last season was one of his best. Nola posted a 3.25 ERA in 32 starts and led all of baseball’s starting pitchers in WAR (6.3). He posted one of the highest strikeout rates of his career (29.1%) and the lowest walk rate of his career (3.6%). Nola finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting.
When Nola takes the mound on March 30, he’ll have made six straight Opening Day starts.
Dombrowski made a point of mentioning that the current negotiations with Nola remind him of the Phillies’ negotiations with catcher J.T. Realmuto. The Marlins traded Realmuto to the Phillies in 2019. The two sides tried to negotiate from 2019-2020 but did not come to an agreement. Realmuto became a free agent after the 2020 season, and re-signed with the Phillies in January 2021. It was a five-year, $115.5 million deal.
”It reminds me a little bit, I wasn’t here at the time, of the J.T. Realmuto situation a few years ago,” Dombrowski said. “Club tried to get him signed, [but] it didn’t work out, and he re-signed with the club after, during the winter time.”