5 way-too-early landing spots for Aaron Nola after Phillies extension talks end

New York Mets

The Mets are a surprisingly good fit for Aaron Nola. Current co-aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are short-term fixes for a rotation that will eventually need a complete overhaul. Besides Kodai Senga and maybe David Peterson or Tylor Megill, New York lacks long-term assets in that area.

That’s where Aaron Nola makes sense.

Should the Mets find themselves losing the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes after the 2023 season, the 30-year-old Nola would immediately be able to anchor their future rotation alongside Senga. New York also lacks in the way of elite starting pitching prospects, so it’s not like they’ll find much help internally once Verlander and Scherzer leave (or retire), either.

And who says the Mets aren’t in line to extract some revenge on the Phillies after the latter has poached Zack Wheeler and Taijuan Walker in recent years?

St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis’ rotation is not in great shape heading into 2023, let alone into the future. Beyond Jack Flaherty, who himself needs to recoup his former ace status, there’s a lot of solid but unspectacular in Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Steven Matz and Jake Woodford. Adam Wainwright will also be retiring, leaving another hole in the Cardinals’ starting staff.

Therefore, Aaron Nola seems like a logical fit for St. Louis next winter.

Nola is the kind of ace-type the Cardinals sorely need, instead of patching holes with the Jon Lesters and Jose Quintanas of the world. Pairing Nola with new backstop Willson Contreras would also give St. Louis a solid foundation to build out the rest of its staff as they continue to be the strongest team in a weak division.

Boston Red Sox

Another team with rotation issues, the Boston Red Sox would be a sensible landing spot for Aaron Nola next season.

Boston is trotting out Corey Kluber on Opening Day this year, which would’ve been something to behold in 2017, but not so much in 2023. Behind Kluber is oft-injured former ace Chris Sale, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Nick Pivetta, with prospect Brayan Bello serving as depth.

There’s just not a lot to like about the Red Sox’ starting staff in 2023. Aaron Nola by himself couldn’t alleviate their problems, but he’d be a great start towards a solution to them.

And despite how the Xander Bogaerts situation played out this winter, and Mookie Betts before him, the Red Sox do have money, as evidenced by the Rafael Devers extension and the signing of Masataka Yoshida from Japan. The question is will they spend it wisely next time around, like on Aaron Nola?

Minnesota Twins

This team is constantly looking for starting rotation upgrades, it seems.

Between the Pablo Lopez trade this offseason, dealing for Tyler Mahle at last summer’s deadline and Sonny Gray the winter before that, the Twins never seem to be satisfied with their starting five. Perhaps that’s because they’re missing a true ace.

Aaron Nola could help with that.

The Twins came out of the woodwork to re-sign star shortstop Carlos Correa this winter in a shocking development, which ultimately proved that Minnesota has the money to spend when it wants to. And with an ace pitcher in Nola likely to hit the open market next winter, the fit is there from a positional standpoint. This is the type of starter the Twins need to finally get over the top in the AL Central.