Aaron Nola among 7 free agents to turn down $20M qualifying offers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) -- Aaron Nola was among seven players who turned down $20,325,000 qualifying offers from their former teams Tuesday and remained on the free agent market to pursue more lucrative contracts.
In addition to Nola saying no to the Philadelphia Phillies, others who declined to accept were pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels), outfielder Cody Bellinger (Chicago Cubs); pitchers Josh Hader and Blake Snell (San Diego) and Sonny Gray (Minnesota); and third baseman Matt Chapman (Toronto).
By making a qualifying offer — calculated as the average of the top 125 contracts by average annual value — a team would receive an additional selection in next July's amateur draft if a player signs elsewhere before then. A team signing the player could lose one or two draft picks.
Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and only 10 of 131 offers have been accepted.
Ohtani heads a free agent class that also includes starting pitchers Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery, along with Nola, Snell, Gray and Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is not attached to draft-pick compensation.
The 29-year-old Ohtani is coming off one of the best two-way seasons in major league history, batting .304 with 44 homers while going 10-5 as a starting pitcher with a 3.14 ERA. However, he had his second Tommy John surgery in September and is not expected to pitch again until 2025.
Ahead of the deadline to protect players from the winter meeting draft, Washington first baseman Dominic Smith and right-hander Cory Abbott were designated for assignment to open roster spots along with Seattle first baseman Mike Ford; Cleveland right-handers Cal Quantrill and Michael Kelly; Tampa Bay right-handers Cooper Criswell and Calvin Faucher; and Kansas City catcher Logan Porter and right-hander Josh Staumont.
Agreeing to one-year contracts among arbitration-eligible players were Kansas City right-hander Taylor Clarke, Washington outfielder Victor Robles and Nationals righty reliever Tanner Rainey.
Will Nola stay in Philadelphia?
Following the Phillies' Game 7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series, Nola expressed a desire to come back to Philly.
Phillies managing partner John Middleton told CBS Philadelphia the team will "try really hard" to bring Nola back to pair alongside ace Zack Wheeler.
"We're going to make a really concerted effort to re-sign him," Middleton said in October. "We really like Aaron. Not just for his pitching ability, which is really good, but for the character that he brings to the clubhouse and to the dugout. He's a really good human being to have on your team. We're going to try really hard to sign him."
But, of course, the Phillies are going to have competition to bring Nola back.
Jon Morosi, of MLB Network, reported the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals have interest in Nola.
"A couple names have really emerged as strong possibilities for the Atlanta Braves... Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray."@jonmorosi | #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/mjm9Qqoz4V
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 13, 2023
Nola posted a 4.46 ERA and gave up a career-high 32 home runs in 193 2/3 innings across 32 starts in the 2023 season. Yet, Nola still was in the top 10 in innings pitched, strikeouts (202) and WHIP (1.15) in the National League.
Nola started four games in the 2023 playoffs, posting a 0.96 ERA in his first three starts. In what may have been his final game as a Phillie, he allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings of the Phillies' 5-1 loss to the D-Backs in Game 6 of the NLCS.