The Philadelphia Phillies achieved their primary offseason objective when they re-signed Aaron Nola, their ace, to a long-term deal worth $172 million and seven years.
There were rumors that the elite right-hander would leave the Phillies in free agency. Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, repeated that idea several times as well.
In the end, they managed to retain Nola and position him at the head of their rotation going forward.
Philadelphia would like to extend Zack Wheeler before he ever hits the open market because he is set to become a free agent after the 2024 season.
Even though they were able to get Nola back, they might not be as fortunate with Wheeler as he hasn’t had the same ups and downs as Nola while wearing a Phillies uniform.
In light of this, what is Philadelphia’s current position regarding completing that extension?
Dombrowski claims that not much appears to have changed in that regard.
“We are aware that we would like to retain him for a considerable amount of time. It’s not always simple, though. Consequently, I’m confident we’ll pursue it eventually. However, I’m not sure how crucial it is for them right now,” he said to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
