First domino falls, Aaron Nola back to Phillies

Despite reports, I always thought landing Aaron Nola was a long shot for the Braves. They would have had to totally flip the script on how they approach free agent starting pitchers, going from one-year deals to seven years. That’s a considerable jump that didn’t smell right. On top of that, the Phillies have much deeper pockets than the Braves. Were they really ever going to let him walk to a division rival?

I find it most likely that the reports of the Braves being interested in Aaron Nola were planted by his agent. What better way to get the Phillies interested than by leaking that their division rivals have interest in your client? It’s smart business, and it ended up getting Nola a lucrative contract to stay in Philadelphia.

This signing is the first major domino to fall in free agency. We will see what kind of ripple effect it has on the rest of the starting pitching market. It’s one less pitcher available, but Braves fans shouldn’t be too discouraged. There are still plenty of avenues for Alex Anthopoulos to navigate and land the frontline starter the Braves are searching for this offseason.