Once Aaron Nola was re-signed to a long-term deal, the front team could focus on getting Zack Wheeler an extension as well.
The biggest offseason accomplishment for the Philadelphia Phillies came when they re-signed their star player, Aaron Nola, 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.
On the list of things to accomplish, there is now another priority.
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 bring Nola back, they could not be as fortunate with Wheeler, as he hasn’t experienced the same ups and downs as Nola while wearing a Phillies uniform.
In light of this, what is Philadelphia’s current position about completing the 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 explore it eventually. However, I’m not sure how crucial it is for them right now,” he said to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
The manager’s’ comments raised more questions than answers.
That suggests that no offer appears to have been made, and it’s unclear when one will be. Additionally, it appears from Dombrowski that Wheeler and his representative are open to exploring free agency following the season.
Philadelphia should steer clear of that at all costs.
Given what Wheeler has accomplished for the Phillies throughout his time there, his current five-year, $118 million contract may be considered one of the best free agent signings in history.
The great right-hander has the best fWAR in the league over the last four seasons (19.3), and his postseason ERA (2.42) is the sixth-best in MLB history when he has made at least ten starts.
As they pursue World Series titles, it appears that the organization would prefer to keep Wheeler and Nola together for many years to come.
As he works through the remainder of the winter to make sure Wheeler doesn’t hit the open market, Dombrowski ought to begin focusing on extension negotiations this offseason.