The Philadelphia Phillies started their offseason with a bang by signing Aaron Nola to a contract extension. With one major deal under their belt, the Phillies aren’t planning on stopping anytime soon.
Nola signed a seven year, $172 million extension on Sunday. But Nola’s massive contract extension won’t preclude Philadelphia from pursuing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, via Patrick Gordon of Philadelphia Baseball Review. The Phillies are also considering offering Zack Wheeler an extension.
Retaining Nola seemed like priority No. 1 for Philadelphia this offseason. He is coming off of a bit of a down year, holding a 4.46 ERA. However, the year prior, Nola held a 3.25 ERA and a 235/29 K/BB ratio. Over his entire nine-year career with the Phillies, Nola has pitched to a 90-71 record with a 3.72 ERA and a 1,582/371 K/BB ratio.
The Phillies are looking to bounce back after falling just short in the NLCS. For as good as Nola and Wheeler have been, adding Yamamoto to the lineup would give Phillies one of the scariest three-headed monsters in the league.
Yamamoto has pitched to a 75-30 record with a 1.72 ERA and a 986/216 K/BB ratio over his seven years in NPB. He was won the Sawamura Award – Japan’s equivalent of Cy Young – three times alongside the pitching Triple Crown. Yamamoto is also a two-time Pacific League MVP.
The Phillies won’t be alone in their pursuit of Yamamoto. To many clubs around MLB, the Japanese star is the best pitcher on the free agency. But while it may get pricey, Philadelphia won’t be scared away.
They’ve already got Aaron Nola signed long-term. The Phillies will now try to get him an explosive pitching mate in Yoshinobu Yamamoto.