Aaron Nola Rumors: MLB executives reportedly believe Braves will sign either Nola or Sonny Gray

Aaron Nola is one of the top free-agent pitchers available this offseason. While both Nola and Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski have expressed a desire to continue their relationship, it’s evident that there will be a slew of other suitors for the former first-round pick’s services this offseason.

This tracker will be updated throughout the course of the offseason as Nola’s market develops.

Friday, Nov. 17 at 1:39 p.m. ET: On an Atlanta sports talk radio station, ESPN’s Jeff Passan said that major league executives believe the Atlanta Braves will sign either Nola or Sonny Gray this offseason.

“Executives on other teams believe that the Braves will wind up with one of those two [Nola or Gray],” Passan said on “The Cellini and Dimino Show” on 680 The Fan on Friday. “I don’t know which one. I don’t know how soon it’s going to be.”

Passan went on to make this interesting comment on Nola and the Braves.

[Atlanta Braves GM] Alex [Anthopoulos] has not shown the willingness to spend market value over the long term on a starting pitcher. If Nola were the guy in Atlanta, it would be an absolute departure from what they have done in the past.

The Braves have not handed out a contract with an average annual value above $22 million. They did offer Freddie Freeman $28 million per year when he was a free agent, but the Braves will certainly have to go over $22 million if they want to sign either Gray or Nola.

Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 8:29 a.m. ET: Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports that opposing clubs are “convinced” that the Phillies won’t go above and beyond to retain Nola’s services. “(Re-signing Nola) is obviously doable for a team that already has five players on nine-figure free-agent contracts. But it’s fascinating how convinced rival teams are that the Phillies are not firing up the engines to go all out to win this particular bidding war.”

The team is interested in Jordan Montgomery, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Sonny Gray as potential Nola replacements in free agency, but is “lukewarm” on Blake Snell, according to Stark.

Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 10:49 a.m. ET: Jon Morosi of MLB.com says the New York Yankees “are among the most active teams in the starting pitching market.” They are showing interest in Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Nola.

Monday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. ET: Jon Morosi of MLB.com is reporting that the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals are “among teams showing early interest” in Nola as he tests free agency.

Monday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET: MLB Trade Rumors released their free-agent predictions, and have Nola landing a six-year/$150 million deal. Their three writers — Tim Dierkes, Anthony Franco and Steve Adams — all believe he will sign with the Cardinals.

He may very well sign with the Cardinals, but that offer seems low, and like one the Phillies would match. The guess here is that while Nola may not get $200 million in free agency, the final number will be closer to $200 than $150.

Monday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. ET: The Phillies have indeed extended the one-year/$20.325 million qualifying offer to Nola. You can read more about what that means here.

Monday, Nov. 6 at 9 a.m. ET: Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals “see Nola as a strong candidate for their improved rotation and intend to engage in talks with his representation.”

Sunday, Nov. 5 at 12:30 p.m. ET: Multiple general managers opined to Bob
Nightengale of USA Today that they believe the defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers will sign Nola. You can read more here.

Sunday, Nov. 5 at 11:00 a.m. ET: Bob Nightengale of USA Today says that there are some general managers in the league who believe that the Phillies will allow Nola to leave in free agency, and pivot to likely NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. You can read more here.

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