Aaron Nola was the first notable free-agent starting pitcher to come off the board as he re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on a seven-year, $172 million contract.
Nola was a popular option for teams looking to upgrade their rotation as the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers also expressed interest in signing the 30-year-old.
The Dodgers, who are hoping to add at least two starters this offseason, reportedly made Nola a contract offer in the $165 million range.
However, the right-hander turned down the opportunity to sign with the Dodgers due to not being a fan of Los Angeles, per David Vassegh of AM 570 L.A. Sports:
“The Dodgers did have dialogue with the Phillies starter, but my understanding was he did not like the city of Los Angeles.”
It’s hard to fault Nola for not wanting to move to the West Coast as he is from Louisiana and has spent his entire career in Philadelphia.
The Dodgers saw a similar situation play out when they had a deal in place to acquire Eduardo Rodriguez at this year’s MLB trade deadline, only for him to invoke his no-trade clause to remain with the Detroit Tigers.
Rodriguez cited family reasons for vetoing his deal to the Dodgers, but indicated he would be open to signing with them as a free agent this offseason.
Along with Rodriguez, the Dodgers have been linked to Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in free agency, and Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease on the trade market, so there are plenty of top-tier starting pitchers still available that the team can pivot to.
Aaron Nola wanted to re-sign with Phillies
After the Phillies were eliminated from the postseason last month, Nola made it clear that he wanted to remain with the organization. “Yeah, I hope so,” he answered when asked if he’d be back with the team.
“I really do. I love it here. Obviously it’s the only place I’ve been. I came up through some special times in the rebuilding era ask and getting to witness and be a part of a lot of different type of teams.
“To be on a team like I am now, it’s really cool and special to see and to be a part of all the success and failures to get to where we are now.”
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