MLB Rumors: Aaron Nola may receive seven-year deal
Aaron Nola is one of the top pitchers available on the free agent market and he is expected to receive a massive payday with his next contract.
According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, rival executives believe that the bidding for Nola will push the right-hander to a seven-year contract, with a higher AAV than what was offered to him this spring.
This certainly bodes well for the Phillies, who are expected to keep Nola and have the financial resources to offer him such a contract. But Stark notes that when the Phillies and Nola last tried to negotiate, they "were not even remotely close." This could pose a slight problem. But the Phillies do have the financial resources to pull it off.
Back in the spring, Nola was hoping for a seven-year extension worth more than $200 million, but the two sides were unable to come to an agreement on a new contract, and now Nola is on the open market.
Other teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, and Los Angeles Dodgers are showing early interest in the veteran right-hander, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY.
MLB Rumors: Will Juan Soto be traded?
Just over a year after being acquired by the San Diego Padres, slugger Juan Soto may be on the move again.
However, Jon Heyman of MLB Network pumped the breaks on this rhetoric and shared his opinion on the Soto situation.
Heyman says he is not convinced Soto will be traded indefinitely. He clarified that it could certainly happen, but that he doesn't see the Padres as a potential seller.
This could mean several things. It could mean that Soto will ultimately be held onto by the Friars until his contract expires. It could also mean that Soto will be traded eventually, just not during the offseason.
Ultimately, it depends on what direction the Padres see themselves going in for 2024. The team won 82 games during the regular season, but finished in third place in the NL West and fell short of the postseason after their surprise run to the NLCS in 2022.
If Soto is traded, then the Padres may be planning on stepping back from contention for a year or two. It would depend on what the Padres can get for him if he is ultimately traded away this winter.
MLB Rumors: Yamamoto may prefer west coast
Like Aaron Nola, Yoshinubo Yamamoto is a pitcher that will be highly coveted by several teams. But Heyman believes that he may have a preference for the west coast.
If that is the case, then teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies may ultimately be out of the running.
This may leave the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants as the most likely options for Yamamoto. Both teams have money to spend and spots to fill in their starting rotations.
The Dodgers will likely lose Julio Urias, who is a free agent but was already suspended for a domestic violence arrest. A second ace to go next to Walker Buehler would make the Dodgers a serious threat to win a title.
The Giants showed their willingness to spend big last offseason when they nearly signed both Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa. They may be prepared to strike this offseason and get a deal done with somebody like Yamamoto.
For teams not on the west coast, it may be time to pivot to another top-level starting pitcher such as Blake Snell or Nola.
