Philadelphia Phillies free agent class includes only 1 player they must keep

The Philadelphia Phillies free agent class of 2022-2023 includes a couple of notable players brought into the family during recent offseasons. The middle infield duo of Jean Segura and Didi Gregorius are on expiring contracts with the former owning a deal that includes a team option.

Several others, including starting pitchers Kyle Gibson and Zach Eflin, could be headed into the open market. All could fit in with the club next year but there is only one player they must keep.

Aaron Nola, in the final year of his contract, has a $16 million team option for 2023. The relationship between the Phillies and Nola goes back to 2014 when they drafted him seventh overall. It’s a marriage between team and player that needs to continue.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola may not be an ace but he is worth keeping.

The Phillies have a weak history of developing quality starting pitchers. During their golden years from 2007-2011, many of the best pitchers were brought in via trades. Cole Hamels was the only homegrown player to have any sort of a major impact on the franchise in a very long time. He was a lot like Nola. The two have the ability to look like a number one starter yet also throw batting practice to the opponent from year to year.

After 179 big league starts for the Phillies with a major league debut just one year after getting drafted, Nola is 68-53 with a 3.67 ERA. He has twice been in the top ten of the Cy Young vote. And as discovered in the offseason, his career numbers at this age most closely match Max Scherzer.

Nola turns 29 next month which is a good age for him and his 1200 career (and counting) strikeouts to hit the open market. Nola has, in many ways, been the epitome of a modern-day number one starter. Undeniably a tier below ace level, Nola has been a quality starter for the Phillies with only the 2016 and 2021 season standing out as major disappointments.

The free agent market for Nola would likely be vast if he does enter the mix this offseason although the team option is something the front office should rely on to keep him around at least one more season. If they let Gibson and Eflin also walk, keeping Nola becomes imperative to avoid having to go out and add three starters.

How Nola performs this year will help a lot of fans decide whether or not they would like to keep him. At a rate of $16 million for one more year, it’s a fair dollar amount. It’s probably even less than the AAV he would get with a brand new contract.

The Philadelphia Phillies should certainly explore the idea of bringing back more than just him. However, if they had to settle on letting everyone else go, he is the lone must in the free agent pool.