Official Phillies Press Release :
Sunday, November 19, 2023
PHILLIES SIGN AARON NOLA TO SEVEN-YEAR CONTRACT
The Phillies have signed right-handed starter Aaron Nola to a seven-year contract, taking him through the 2030 season, President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski announced today.
Nola, 30, has spent his entire nine-year major league career with the Phillies after being selected by the club in the first round (7th overall) of the 2014 MLB Draft and making his major league debut in July 2015.
“ At the outset of this offseason, we made signing Aaron our top priority,” Dombrowski said. “We are committed to winning, and having an individual like him in our uniform for years to come only helps us in that regard. Aaron has proven to be one of the best and most durable pitchers in our game for a number of years now, and when considering his leadership abilities and his character, it was very important for us to keep him a part of the Phillies family.”
In 2023, Nola made 32 starts for the third consecutive season and went 12-9 with a 4.46 ERA (96 ER, 193.2 IP) with 202 strikeouts to 45 walks. The Phillies went 19-13 in his starts (.594 winning %) and won eight of his last nine. At Citizens Bank Park, Nola went 6-3 with a 3.29 ERA (32 ER, 87.2 IP) as the Phillies went 10-4 in his 14 starts at home (.714 winning %). Among all National League starters in 2023, Nola ranked tied for fourth in starts, tied for fifth in innings pitched, sixth in opponents OBP (.283), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.49) & walk rate (5.7 %), seventh in WHIP (1.15) and tied for eighth in strikeouts.
Nola made four starts in the postseason and went 3-1 while posting a 2.35 ERA (6 ER, 23.0 IP) and 0.96 WHIP (4 BB, 18 H). For his career, Nola has made nine starts in the postseason and is 5-3 with a 3.70 ERA (20 ER, 48.2 IP) with 50 strikeouts against nine walks (5.56 SO/BB ratio). He has made five career starts in which he could either clinch a postseason berth or a postseason series win. In those five starts, he is 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA (5 ER, 31.1 IP) and the Phillies have won four of five.
The 2023 season marked Nola’s fifth consecutive 200-strikeout season (not including 2020) as he became the only pitcher in franchise history to reach 200 strikeouts in five straight seasons. He is the 22nd pitcher in MLB history to do so. Nola’s five career 200-strikeout seasons rank second in club history behind only Hall of Fame left-hander Steve Carlton, who has seven.
Since 2018, Nola has made the most starts of any pitcher in Major League Baseball (175). In that same span, he ranks second in innings pitched (1065.1) trailing only Gerrit Cole (1076.2) and third in strikeouts (1,209), trailing only Cole (1,418) and Max Scherzer (1,218). He ranks fifth among all pitchers in fWAR (FanGraphs) over the last six seasons at 25.5, trailing Cole (28.5), teammate Zack Wheeler (28.1), Scherzer (27.8) and Jacob deGrom (27.2).
For his career, Nola currently ranks fifth in franchise history with 1,582 strikeouts. He trails only left-hander Chirs Short (1,585), left-hander Cole Hamels (1,844), Hall of Fame right-hander Robin Roberts (1,871) and Carlton (3,031). He ranks seventh in club history with 235 starts, trailing left-hander Curt Simmons (263), Hall of Fame right-hander Grover Cleveland Alexander (280), Hamels (294), Short (301), Roberts (472) and Carlton (499). Nola’s .559 career winning percentage ranks tied for eighth in franchise history with Hamels.
Nola will enter the 2024 season with 33.9 fWAR which ranks sixth among all pitchers in club history behind Curt Schilling (38.6), Hamels (40.5), Alexander (50.8), Roberts (62.6) and Carlton (75.0). He has 32.0 career bWAR (Baseball Reference) which ranks seventh among all pitchers in club history behind Short (32.1), Curt Schilling (36.8), Hamels (42.0), Alexander (60.3), Carlton (64.6) and Roberts (69.8).
A native of Baton Rouge, La., Nola attended Louisiana State University and was honored as the 2014 National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation during his junior season. In 2014 he was also a Golden Spikes Award finalist, named First-Team All-American, SEC Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All-SEC.
Nola, who lost his uncle to ALS in 2020, co-hosts Strike Out ALS, an offseason bowling event, with his brother Austin, to benefit the ALS Association of Baton Rouge and Philadelphia. In 2023 Nola hosted his inaugural Bowling For the Troops to benefit Team Red, White & Blue, a nonprofit organization which enriches the lives of veterans by guiding them through a lifestyle that focuses on mental and physical health. He was the 2020 Phillies Community Service Award winner and club nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award and serves as the ambassador for the Phans Feeding Families campaign, a ballpark-wide initiative with Citizens Bank and the Phillies to raise money and collect food for Philabundance.
