[Rosenthal] Braves willing to pay for free agent starting pitcher. Is Aaron Nola a fit?
November 13, 2023
[Rosenthal] Braves willing to pay for free agent starting pitcher. Is Aaron Nola a fit?
15 comments
One of the remarkable things about the Atlanta Braves is that none of their players signed long-term has a salary of more than $22 million. But for the right starting pitcher in free agency, the Braves are willing to go higher.
**The $22 million figure is not an actual ceiling**, but merely the peak number the Braves settled upon in their extensions for Matt Olson and Austin Riley, **according to sources briefed on the team’s plans** who are not authorized to speak publicly.
**The Braves offered Freddie Freeman** a higher salary when he was a free agent during the 2021-22 offseason — **$28 million annually over a five-year term**. Freeman instead agreed to a six-year deal with the Dodgers worth $27 million per season, with considerable deferrals.
Already this offseason, the Braves have exercised right-handed starter Charlie Morton’s $20 million option while signing reliever Joe Jiménez to a three-year, $26 million contract and reliever Pierce Johnson to a two-year, $14.25 million deal. **They still want to add another starter, however, and the top free agents are likely to command average annually values higher than $22 million.**
Of the pitchers available, righty Aaron Nola is perhaps the most intriguing fit. **Nola is close with Braves pitching coach Rick Kranitz**, who was with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2016 to ‘18. And as a native of Baton Rouge, La., who attended LSU, he might prefer to sign with a team in the south.
Something else to consider: Snell and a leading trade candidate, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Corbin Burnes, are represented by Scott Boras. **Nola is represented by Joe Longo. The Braves do not have a single Boras client on their roster.** The Phillies, under owner John Middleton, have not shied away from Boras players, signing Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos as free agents and drafting others.
He got a QO. Would say that pretty much eliminates him right off the top.
My only concern with him is he seems to be a little hot or cold. When he’s on, he is lights out. When he’s not, it can get rough.
Suck that Burnes is a Boras client. That pretty much eliminates him. Don’t know if I’d go all in on Nola but he definitely would make a great #2-3 and gives us 3 for sure front line starters for next year.
It’s baseball, how could a starting pitcher not be a fit??
Braves should pass on Nola and Burnes. We don’t really want to trade our young pitchers or give draft picks to the Phillies. Instead, they should go after Yamamoto(sp?) or one of the other top Japanese pitchers.
Would love Nola and he fits the Braves MO as a guy whose underlying peripherals indicate brighter things to come. The only thing that doesn’t jive with their usual trends is the QO attached but teams trade prospects for MLB players all the time and it will undoubtedly drive his price down a bit. I think I’d rather have Nola for 4-5 years at 20ish mil than bet on two draft picks panning out.
Otherwise your options to get quality non-Boras pitching are the Japanese players which the Braves have never been linked to. (Not that they are really linked to anyone they sign which might make the Nola thing a moot point anyway).
IF we still one of the Phillies best pitchers… It will make the last couple seasons ALMOST not really worth it.
Yes
One if the best things to like about him is durability. He’s not a hard throwing guy and has been able to give a strong full season of work plus playoffs every year he’s been in the majors. Braves are desperate for durable starters right now. A 6yr $150M deal is a lot but it’s not my money eh? I’d love to steal him away. Chances are we’ll get the QO picks back next year when Fried leaves.
If the front office believes that Aaron Nola or Sonny Gray will help this team win ballgames in the next (roughly) five years, they’ll take the hit from the qualifying offer imo. *Especially* if Alex believes that Max won’t re-sign for anything and knows he’ll slap the QO on him following the 2024 season which will net him draft pick(s)
Nola’s wife is from Georgia. Braves want him.
Can totally see them paying Nola and him not pitching anywhere near close to the level he has for the Phillies.
Nola had a down year but was dominant in 2022. He also was cold in 2021 but great in 2020, seems like he alternates hot and cold years, but he is an absolute workhorse with a near flawless health record so thats a big plus.
He is from Louisiana so we could work the hometown team magic to convince him to sign.
I think he’s a lot more likely than other free agent starting pitchers, a lot of them are Boras clients and we never sign those guys lol.
I could see us going up to like $26M a year for Nola.
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15 comments
One of the remarkable things about the Atlanta Braves is that none of their players signed long-term has a salary of more than $22 million. But for the right starting pitcher in free agency, the Braves are willing to go higher.
**The $22 million figure is not an actual ceiling**, but merely the peak number the Braves settled upon in their extensions for Matt Olson and Austin Riley, **according to sources briefed on the team’s plans** who are not authorized to speak publicly.
**The Braves offered Freddie Freeman** a higher salary when he was a free agent during the 2021-22 offseason — **$28 million annually over a five-year term**. Freeman instead agreed to a six-year deal with the Dodgers worth $27 million per season, with considerable deferrals.
Already this offseason, the Braves have exercised right-handed starter Charlie Morton’s $20 million option while signing reliever Joe Jiménez to a three-year, $26 million contract and reliever Pierce Johnson to a two-year, $14.25 million deal. **They still want to add another starter, however, and the top free agents are likely to command average annually values higher than $22 million.**
Of the pitchers available, righty Aaron Nola is perhaps the most intriguing fit. **Nola is close with Braves pitching coach Rick Kranitz**, who was with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2016 to ‘18. And as a native of Baton Rouge, La., who attended LSU, he might prefer to sign with a team in the south.
Something else to consider: Snell and a leading trade candidate, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Corbin Burnes, are represented by Scott Boras. **Nola is represented by Joe Longo. The Braves do not have a single Boras client on their roster.** The Phillies, under owner John Middleton, have not shied away from Boras players, signing Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos as free agents and drafting others.
He got a QO. Would say that pretty much eliminates him right off the top.
My only concern with him is he seems to be a little hot or cold. When he’s on, he is lights out. When he’s not, it can get rough.
Suck that Burnes is a Boras client. That pretty much eliminates him. Don’t know if I’d go all in on Nola but he definitely would make a great #2-3 and gives us 3 for sure front line starters for next year.
It’s baseball, how could a starting pitcher not be a fit??
Braves should pass on Nola and Burnes. We don’t really want to trade our young pitchers or give draft picks to the Phillies. Instead, they should go after Yamamoto(sp?) or one of the other top Japanese pitchers.
Would love Nola and he fits the Braves MO as a guy whose underlying peripherals indicate brighter things to come. The only thing that doesn’t jive with their usual trends is the QO attached but teams trade prospects for MLB players all the time and it will undoubtedly drive his price down a bit. I think I’d rather have Nola for 4-5 years at 20ish mil than bet on two draft picks panning out.
Otherwise your options to get quality non-Boras pitching are the Japanese players which the Braves have never been linked to. (Not that they are really linked to anyone they sign which might make the Nola thing a moot point anyway).
IF we still one of the Phillies best pitchers… It will make the last couple seasons ALMOST not really worth it.
Yes
One if the best things to like about him is durability. He’s not a hard throwing guy and has been able to give a strong full season of work plus playoffs every year he’s been in the majors. Braves are desperate for durable starters right now. A 6yr $150M deal is a lot but it’s not my money eh? I’d love to steal him away. Chances are we’ll get the QO picks back next year when Fried leaves.
If the front office believes that Aaron Nola or Sonny Gray will help this team win ballgames in the next (roughly) five years, they’ll take the hit from the qualifying offer imo. *Especially* if Alex believes that Max won’t re-sign for anything and knows he’ll slap the QO on him following the 2024 season which will net him draft pick(s)
Nola’s wife is from Georgia. Braves want him.
Can totally see them paying Nola and him not pitching anywhere near close to the level he has for the Phillies.
Nola had a down year but was dominant in 2022. He also was cold in 2021 but great in 2020, seems like he alternates hot and cold years, but he is an absolute workhorse with a near flawless health record so thats a big plus.
He is from Louisiana so we could work the hometown team magic to convince him to sign.
I think he’s a lot more likely than other free agent starting pitchers, a lot of them are Boras clients and we never sign those guys lol.
I could see us going up to like $26M a year for Nola.
I trust AA and whoever he wants to sign.