The Phillies and right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola have agreed to a four-year contract through the 2022 season, the club announced today. The deal also includes a club option for the 2023 season.
Nola, 25, went 17-6 with a 2.37 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 25 quality starts and 224 strikeouts in 212.1 innings pitched over 33 total starts last season. He finished in the top 10 among all major league starters in ERA, starts, quality starts, innings, WHIP and strikeouts, earning a third-place finish in National League Cy Young Award voting and his first career All-Star selection.
Per Baseball Reference's valuation of WAR, his 10.5 bWAR in 2018 was the most by any pitcher in baseball since 2002 (Randy Johnson, 10.7) and most by any Phillies pitcher since 1972 (Steve Carlton, 12.1).
Over the past two seasons, Nola has made 60 starts for the Phillies, going 29-17 with a 2.89 ERA and 408 strikeouts in 380.1 innings, holding opponents to a .217 batting average and .344 slugging percentage. He ranks fourth in the National League in ERA in that span, trailing only Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, and is fifth in strikeouts behind Scherzer, deGrom, Patrick Corbin and Zack Greinke. In four seasons with Philadelphia, Nola is 41-28 with a 3.35 ERA.
A native of Baton Rouge, La., Nola was selected by the Phillies in the first round (7th overall) of the June 2014 draft out of Louisiana State University.
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