Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, MLB Rumors, Philadelphia Phillies

MLB Rumors: Aroldis Chapman trade risk, Aaron Nola update, Marlins can’t sell

Aaron Nola, Phillies, MLB rumors

Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies, MLB Rumors (Photo by Casey Sykes/Getty Images)

MLB Rumors: Aaron Nola shows Phillies why they can’t trade him

Aaron Nola took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Monday night against the Detroit Tigers. It was yet another reminder that the Phillies would be crazy to let Nola walk, or worse yet, trade him in late July.

Yes, Philadelphia is underachieving and, yes, Nola and the Phillies haven’t been able to agree to a long-term contract, but he’s too integral to Rob Thomson’s pitching staff to deal away for nothing.

Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Phillies feel as though they are stuck in neutral, and if that trend continues, they will consider trading away certain assets. That could include Nola due to their current contract dispute. FanSided’s Chris Kline summed up the Phils current position in a recent article:

“That would obviously mean a seismic shift in the Phillies organization. Nola has spent his entire nine-year career in Philadelphia, including an All-Star appearance in 2018. A trade would signal the end of an era, and potentially the end of the Phillies’ postseason aspirations. We haven’t quite arrived at that point, but it’s a possibility to monitor if the Phils continue to lose ballgames.”

It would be a shame to see the Phillies press the reset button so quickly, especially given they made the World Series just last year. Yes, 2023 has been disappointing for the Phils, but Nola is too good to let get away. Dave Dombrowski knows this, and talked about his dilemma this spring.

“We think the world of him, quality pitcher, quality human being, but sometimes you get to this point where you’re not able to consummate a deal that both sides feel comfortable,” Dombrowski said. “We’re very open minded to trying to sign him at the end of the season. We’re hopeful he’ll remain a Phillie for a long time.”

Open minded isn’t always a good thing, especially if that ends in a Nola trade.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *