Report: Talks between Phillies, Aaron Nola ‘gaining significant momentum’

There’s at least one report out there suggesting that the Philadelphia Phillies and Aaron Nola are close on a deal.

USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale reports that contract talks between the two sides have “gained significant momentum in the past few days and there’s strong optimism that they’ll reach an agreement before the winter meetings.”

“They are getting close to finding middle ground with Nola making it clear to Phillies’ management that he wants to stay put,” Nightengale added.

As Jayson Stark recently suggested at The Athletic, Nola was seeking a deal of around seven years, $210 million during spring training while the Phillies offered around six years, $150 million. The two sides ended talks shortly before the beginning of the regular season.

It’s possible Nola could be the first big free agent to sign this offseason. It’s been a slow developing market, but that could change. Shohei Ohtani, the biggest free agent in the history of the sport, could reportedly sign before the beginning of the baseball winter meetings, which begin Dec. 3 in Nashville.

If Nola wanted the biggest dollar amount he could get, perhaps it would be wise for him to let Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto set the market and sign afterwards. Yamamoto, according to multiple reports, is expected to be posted by Orix Buffaloes on Monday. From there, he’ll have 45 days to sign with an MLB team. Yamamoto is expected to sign a contract of at least $200 million.

Nola, 30, was drafted by the Phillies in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft and has spent the first nine years of his career in Philadelphia. He’s coming off a down season, posting a 4.46 ERA across 32 starts in the regular season. After a few mechanical tweaks, Nola excelled in his first three starts of last year’s postseason before struggling in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Diamondbacks.

The high ERA hasn’t stopped other teams from showing interest in Nola. His main draw is the track record of durability and in a league where reliable starting pitching is at a premium and will be for years to come, Nola was expected to be highly coveted on the market.

But if Nightengale is right and the Phillies are close to signing Nola, other teams will be forced to pivot in their search for starting pitching.

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