2) Phillies trade destination for Aaron Nola: Baltimore Orioles
Nola wouldn’t have to travel nearly as far to land with the Baltimore Orioles. In fact, he could just drive there. The Orioles are another one of those teams like the Diamondbacks who showed a lot of promise in 2022 and then had a semi-quiet offseason. Other than signing former Phillies starter Kyle Gibson, the Orioles didn’t do much of anything. They’re relying on their young offense to lead them to victory.
Pitching is something the Orioles will need in order to do more than make a guest appearance in the postseason. Phillies fans who watched through last year’s postseason know as well as anyone how important it is to have starting pitching you can trust.
The Orioles also have young players on the MLB roster as well as in the minor leagues they could package together for Nola. They have 8 players currently in the top 100 according to MLB.com. Surely they can spare one of them. How does third baseman and 99th ranked prospect Coby Mayo sound?
The Orioles appear to have more highly-rated prospects than the Diamondbacks. A trade with them would require the Phillies to land at least one of those top 100 guys. They’ve been buyers in recent summers and subtracted far too much from their farm. Some failed draft picks along the way as well have given them a barren minor league system. They cannot afford to miss in a trade involving Nola.