The Philadelphia Phillies are a team that has made a ton of free agent splashes in recent memory but have failed to develop and extend their own players. When thinking of the best players on the team we think of guys like Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Trea Turner Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto. All of these players were signed in free agency or acquired in a trade.
Two of the last three extensions the Phillies have signed have gone very poorly. In 2016 Odubel Herrera signed a five-year extension worth $30.5 million. Herrera was a promising player when the extension was signed, but the domestic violence incident and poor play have made that extension a disaster. He was finally DFA'd last season.
Scott Kingery signed a six-year extension worth $24 million before he even played a MLB game. He appeared in one inning last season as a defensive replacement and hasn't played regularly for the Phillies since 2019. The bad extensions shouldn't be a deterrent from the Phillies pursuing ones with two of these three players.
1) The Phillies need to find a way to extend Aaron Nola
Was the Postseason a good showing for Aaron Nola? Definitely not. Has he gotten off to a good start in 2023? Nope. The Phillies should still do everything in their power to keep Aaron Nola in Philadelphia for the long haul.
I know that talks have been called off between the two sides, but he is absolutely a player the Phillies should be doing everything in their power to keep.
Nola is a free agent this offseason. He's actually the most recent player they've extended and boy, have they gotten their money's worth. That four-year deal worth $45 million turned out to be extremely team friendly. They got this done after his Cy Young-caliber 2018 season, and he's been a frontline starter ever since with the exception of a rough year in 2021.
Nola has his deficiencies. It feels like when he gets into a bit of trouble or when something bad happens behind him he spirals out of control. Still, when right, he's one of the game's best pitchers.
Last season he had a 3.25 ERA in 32 starts and 205 innings pitched. He finished fourth in the NL Cy Young balloting. It was his third top-seven finish since the 2018 season. He's established himself as a top 5-10 pitcher in the National League.
An extension won't be team-friendly, especially since it'll have to come after the season. Nola is 29 years old and should be here for another 6-7 years at the front of this rotation.