Phillies Sign Aaron Nola To 4-Year, $45M Contract Extension

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Phillies signed Aaron Nola, one of the best young pitchers in the game, to a four-year, $45 million extension, locking up their young ace through his prime years, they announced Wednesday morning.

There is also a club option for a fifth year. That means at minimum, Nola will be a Phillie through the 2022 season, a year longer than he would've been otherwise, as his final year of Philadelphia control via arbitration would have been 2021. And now the Phillies have the choice of extending his contract through the 2023 season.

Along with the recent trades for All Stars JT Realmuto and Jean Segura, and signings of David Robertson and Andrew McCutchen, the extension of Nola is yet another sign to marquee free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado that the Phillies are willing to spend money and resources to win for the next several years.

A 2018 All Star and National League Cy Young Award finalist who turns 26 in June, Nola had a historic season last year, posting a 2.37 ERA, a 17-6 record, 0.975 walks and hits per inning, and 224 strike outs in 212 innings pitched. He emerged not just as one of the consensus best hurlers in the sport, but also as the face of the Phillies franchise alongside Rhys Hoskins.

He'll now be either 30 or 31 when he enters free agency.

There are a few facets to the signing. On the one hand, Nola and the Phillies were set to enter an arbitration hearing this spring after they could not come to an agreement on his 2019 salary (Nola wanted $6.7 million, the Phillies offered $4.5 million). With his contract now guaranteed for the next several years, any potential acrimony between the All Star and the franchise can be avoided.

From a purely baseball perspective, adding one and possibly two more years of Nola is a boon for the organization. It's a low risk, reasonable move to pay that amount of money for a player who is a relatively sure thing to produce at a high level. He'll receive $6 million in 2019 ($4 million salary, $2 million signing bonus), $8 million next year, $11.75 million in 2021, and $15 million in 2022, with $16 million for the 2023 option.

Behind Nola, the Phillies have former Cy Young winner and veteran Jake Arrieta, along with a stable of talented young arms, each of whom is under team control for multiple more years: Vince Velasquez, Nick Pivetta, Zach Eflin, and Jerad Eickhoff. They also have back end but steady players like Enyel De Los Santos and Ranger Suarez to provide some insurance. While the Phillies rotation isn't quite as star-studded as the Nationals or the Mets, there's no doubt it's good enough to help them compete for the division title.

Nola, who was drafted by the Phillies with the seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft, is by far the team's best draft acquisition since their last All Star homegrown hurler Cole Hamels was taken 17th overall in 2002.

Along with recent acquisition Realmuto, Nola and the rest of the team's pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Clearwater, Florida this week. The first spring training game is Feb. 22; the Phillies open the season against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park on March 28.

See related Phillies coverage:

• Phillies Sign Reliever David Robertson To 2-Year Deal
• Phillies Sign Former MVP Andrew McCutchen To $50M Deal
• Phillies Trade Carlos Santana, J.P. Crawford For Jean Segura
• Sooner Or Later, Phillies Must Address Roster Excesses

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