Phillies sign Nola to 4-year, $45M extension
Aaron Nola is staying in Philadelphia for the long haul.
The Phillies avoided an arbitration hearing with their young ace by signing Nola to a four-year contract extension with a fifth-year club option in 2023.
While financial terms were not disclosed by the team, the extension is worth $45 million, sources told Ken Rosenthal and Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The option year is worth $16 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The extension means Nola will be controlled by the Phillies through all three of his arbitration years, and his free agency will be delayed by at least one season.
CONTRACT BREAKDOWN
| Year | Contract |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $4M |
| 2020 | $8M |
| 2021 | $11.75M |
| 2022 | $15M |
| 2023 | $16M* |
- Includes $2-million signing bonus, $4.25-million buyout
Last month, Nola said that he preferred to go year-to-year, though might have changed his mind with so many free agents left unsigned. Nola's arbitration hearing had been scheduled to take place Thursday.
"It's crazy to think that these guys haven't been signed - over 100 guys," Nola said in January, according to Scott Lauber of The Philly Enquirer. "I'll bet they're frustrated because it's getting close to spring training. I'll bet a lot of guys want to know where they're at. I'll bet it's hard to be with a team for a while and then be a free agent and not be signed anywhere and go through the offseason working out and not be signed."
The 25-year-old is coming off a breakout campaign that saw him post a 2.37 ERA with 224 strikeouts and 10.5 bWAR en route to a third-place finish in NL Cy Young voting.