Philadelphia Phillies Must Extend Two of Their Biggest Stars Before It's Too Late

The Philadelphia Phillies have some big decision to make as Opening Day and the 2023 MLB season draws nearer. Two of the most important that should be dealt with expeditiously are the contract extensions of ace starting pitcher Aaron Nola and first baseman Rhys Hoskins.

In a recent piece from The Athletic's Tim Britton, he has Nola and Hoskins at the top of his 'Tier 1: Get this done now" list in terms of players who should be extended. I couldn't agree more.

Nola is a bonafide ace, just look at his performance at the end of the 2022 MLB regular season that helped lead the Phillies to their first postseason berth in over a decade. His performance throughout the Wild Card and National League Divisional Series was also superb.

None of that even mentions his career 3.60 ERA over 1228.1 innings for Philadelphia and the fact that, when healthy, he is a perennial Cy Young candidate.

Britton has Nola's predicted extension value at eight years and $200 million. A fair price for the production he brings to the roster and rotation. For months the speculation around Nola's potential contract extension has been at a roar.

It's time to get it done.

Hoskins on the other hand is a bit more polarizing. Some in the industry (and plenty of fans) want to see him walk. However, his career 125 OPS+ sits well above league average and his .794 OPS in 2022 placed him 11th at his position.

Sure, his defensive metrics left much to be desired, such as he career -8 Defensive Runs Saved. However, he has progressively improved at the position as evidenced by his +3 DRS in 2022.

Tack on the fact that he is the outward facing poster child of the Philadelphia Phillies and a leader in the clubhouse and it's hard to see why the Phillies wouldn't want to keep him around.

Britton has predicted Hoskins's extension at four years and $60 million, which is incredibly fair given the production value at his position. Philadelphia would be hard pressed to find a player with similar production and intrinsic qualities as Hoskins for that price.

By extending Nola and Hoskins the Phillies would eliminate two question marks going forward. That is some nice peace of mind going forward as Philadelphia tries to build a dynasty capable of winning multiple championships as owner John Middleton has alluded to building.

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