Aaron Nola landing spots: Top teams in line for one of the league's most reliable starters
Aaron Nola is one of the top starting pitchers in this year's free-agent class. He is coming off a 12-9 season with the Phillies with a 4.46 ERA and 202 strikeouts on 192.2 innings of work.
While Yoshinobu Yamamoto reigns supreme as the top free-agent pitcher on the market, plenty of evaluators place Nola as the second-best option over Blake Snell. One of the reasons for this is that Nola has only made one stint on the IL since 2018.
There will be a plethora of teams that give Nola a call over the next few months. Whoever lands him will get a reliable starter who throws many strikes and has experience pitching in big moments.
#5. Los Angeles Dodgers
Starting pitching was a shortcoming for the Dodgers this season. Injuries and some off-the-field issues ran rampant for this club. Now that the season has ended, they exercised Lance Lynn's contract and do not know Clayton Kershaw's future.
The veteran lefty had surgery to repair a ligament in his shoulder and will try to return in the summer. It would make sense for the Dodgers to try and land Nola this offseason.
#4. San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are losing their ace Blake Snell, who is a free agent. He will attract many teams in the offseason, and signing Nola would be more cost-effective than trying to re-sign Snell. Starting pitching is something the Padres pride themselves on, and the 2024 season should be no different.
Nola would fit in nicely among Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove in what would be an important season for San Diego.
#3. St. Louis Cardinals
Starting pitching was a problem for the St. Louis Cardinals this season. They were second-to-last in the league in terms of strikeout rates, just ahead of the Colorado Rockies. They are losing veteran ace Adam Wainwright to retirement, and Nola would fit in well in St. Louis.
#2. San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are already down a starting pitcher for the start of the 2024 season. It is expected that they will pick up Alex Cobb's option and keep him for next season, as he has undergone surgery on his hip. This leaves Logan Webb, Anthony Desclafani, Sean Manaea, and Ross Stripling to man the rotation.
While the Giants are typically only interested in stars in the offseason, signing Nola would be a no-brainer.
#1. Boston Red Sox
There is no hiding that starting pitching haunted the Boston Red Sox this season. They saw injuries to Chris Sale and Corey Kluber and had to play musical chairs with their rotation all season. Kluber is now a free agent, and there is no reason why the Red Sox would not pursue Nola. While they need offense, Aaron Nola would greatly impact their starting rotation.