Nola extended

[ptrjr]

The Philadelphia Phillies and starter Aaron Nola are in agreement on a four-year, $45 million deal that includes a club option for a fifth season, league sources tell ESPN.

[art vandelay]

I don't know much about baseball contracts. Why is he so cheap? The guy is amazing.

[JuTMSY4]

They bought out arbitration years

I don't know much about baseball contracts. Why is he so cheap? The guy is amazing.

Nola's next three years are controlled by the Phillies by the CBA and are subject to salary arbitration. I'm not clear on how the exact value is determined, but the values are depressed overall. Nola asked for 6.7 mil this season (in arb) but the Phils offered 4.5 mil. Those prices go up if performance stays the same (or better) and the player gets closer to FA.

For comparison, Jacob DeGrom is 1 year ahead of Nola and made 7.4 mil last season and agreed to 17 mil this season w/ the Mutts. DeGrom will probably top 20 mil next season but he's arguably the best pitcher in the NL. If his performance drops off a cliff, it could go the other way.

The phils basically traded those for an agreement that covers those years - He'll get 6 mil this year, 8 in 2020 and 11.75 in 2021. In exchange for those guaranteed salaries (regardless of performance or injury), he also gave the Phillies 15 mil in 2022 and 16 mil in 2023 (with a 4.25 mil buyout by the Phillies).

It's similar to how Banner used to sign younger, later round guys to medium sized deals and they'd get pissed later because they would out-perform then. However, it's much more common in baseball and the salaries are fully guaranteed. For Nola, it's about the guarantee because he does have a little injury history.

Edit to note: Good teams make these deals and the Phillies are rich enough to make this a no-brainer. 16 mil for Nola in his FA years looks like a steal, right now, but the risk is relatively low given the alternatives. Charlie Morton is making 15 mil this year!