If Aaron Nola was more amenable to exploring options beyond Philadelphia, the Braves were ready and willing to make a push.
The longtime Phillies starter, who has spent his entire career with the organization, was one of the first players to sign this offseason. The 30-year-old inked a seven-year, $172 million deal to stay in Philly.
In a pitching market that isn’t robust, Nola would have had plenty of suitors – the Braves and Dodgers then considered to be among them. He is as durable as they come, and would be a solid top-to-mid rotation arm for just about any contender. He’s formed a formidable 1-2 punch atop the Phillies rotation with Zack Wheeler, which will stay together one more year before Wheeler’s contract expires.
Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos shed light on their interest in Nola during an appearance Tuesday on Dukes & Bell, and it’s clear Nola wanted to stay in Philly.
“There were a lot of rumors and the only one I’ve acknowledged is the Aaron Nola one, but to clarify that, we absolutely checked in on Aaron Nola,” Anthopoulos said. “But there was a lot of transparency on that side that his first choice, his priority if the deal made sense, was to go back to Philadelphia. And if that didn’t present itself for whatever reason and they wouldn’t come to terms financially, then we were a very desirable place for him.
“But they were transparent from the getgo on that, that the first choice was to go back to the Phillies. He was there a long time, they’re a great organization and he’s had a lot of success there. Totally fine, made sense for us, so we understood that, that played out and they ultimately signed him and that was the end of it.
“Other guys that have signed that we were linked to -- Nola was really the only one that if he wasn’t going to go back to the Phillies, then we would have engaged at that point in time, but it was clear that (staying with the Phillies was his) priority.”
The Braves pivoted, ultimately landing Chris Sale in a trade with the Red Sox to round out what already is one of the better rotations in the league. Sale is far less of a sure thing than Nola at this point, but he’s not a bad consolation prize for a group that already includes Spencer Strider, Max Fried and Charlie Morton – plus a bevy of compelling prospects.