MLB Rumors: Aaron Nola Could Get 7-Year Contract in 2023 Free Agency

Free agent right-handed starting pitcher Aaron Nola could get a seven-year deal this offseason.

"Rival executives say they wouldn't be surprised to see the bidding for Nola push him to a seven-year deal, likely at a higher average annual value than what the Phillies offered last spring," The Athletic's Jayson Stark reported.

Per Stark, "it's reasonable to think" Philadelphia sent Nola, who has been with Philadelphia for nine campaigns, an initial offer "in the range of six years, $150 million" last offseason.

However, Stark added that multiple MLB sources told him the Phillies and Nola "were not even remotely close back then" on negotiations, leading the reporter to posit that the pitcher wanted "a seven-year extension for north of $200 million, possibly well north."

The 6'2, 200-pound Nola, who turns 31 next June, has gone 90-71 with a 3.72 ERA (1.13 WHIP) and 10.0 K/9 rate through nine MLB campaigns. He's finished top seven in the NL Cy Young voting three times and made the 2018 NL All-Star team as well.

Nola has notably been durable throughout the course of his career, posting at least 32 starts in the last five non-pandemic seasons (2018-2019, 2021-2023). He's averaged 193 innings over the past three years.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has called re-signing Nola the team's No. 1 priority, per Stark. The issue is that the Phillies should have good competition just to bring him back into the mix.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals are "among teams showing early interest" in Nola right now.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today previously reported that the Cardinals, Braves, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers all have interest too.

He also said that general managers "believe that the Phillies will let Nola walk, and will turn their attention to Blake Snell, who's about to win his second Cy Young award."

Not only that, but Nola is a top priority for others as well, with The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal writing that "a number of other clubs consider him a primary target."

Nola just had a down year by his standards, going 12-9 record with a 4.46 ERA and 32 home runs allowed. However, he did post 202 strikeouts in 193.2 innings and excelled in the playoffs with 3-1 record (2.35 ERA) and 23 strikeouts in 23 frames.

Ultimately, Nola could very well get a seven-year deal in free agency given his past success and durability. The interest in his services appears to be there, including from his old team, and he shouldn't have an issue landing a lucrative contract in return.