NL East Club 'Never Got Close' To Extension With Star; Should Red Sox Attempt Blockbuster Deal?

The Boston Red Sox have surprised some people already this season.

Boston entered the season with many expecting them to finish in last place in the American League East, but currently are 21-15 and have put together one of the best offenses in all of baseball. To make matters even better for Boston, the club's offense should get even better as outfielder Adam Duvall and infielder Trevor Story eventually return from injuries.

The Red Sox's Achilles heel so far this season without a doubt has been the club's starting pitching, although it seems to have made a turn. Boston's starting rotation struggled early on to begin the season, but have started to look sharper as they have gotten healthier.

When fully healthy, Boston's starting rotation should be solid with Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Brayan Bello, and then some combination of Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, Nick Pivetta, and James Paxton. But, if the Red Sox want to take another step forward, acquiring another ace may be the way to do so and one player who potentially could fit the description is Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Aaron Nola.

Nola will be a free agent at the end of the season and although there's a solid chance he ends up back with the Phillies, the two sides were not close on a contract extension heading into the season, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

"The Phillies never got close to a deal after extensive talks in the winter with free agent-to-be Aaron Nola but are expected to pick things up after the season," Heyman said. "Nola is said to prefer to remain in Philadelphia, and of course, they want to keep him.

"Though the Phillies’ offer was north of $100 million, it didn’t compare to some free-agent deals for comparable pitchers. The Phillies may simply be waiting for free agency, as they did before successfully locking up J.T. Realmuto."

Although it sounds likely that Nola will remain with Philadelphia, the fact that he will be a free agent is very interesting. If the Phillies were to spiral and fall significantly out of the postseason race, maybe a trade could happen around the trade deadline. If Philadelphia was out of the playoff race and the Phillies weren't confident they could re-sign Nola this offseason, the Red Sox certainly have the minor-league pieces to get a deal done. Plus, Boston has been in the market for a top-of-the-rotation starter, so it wouldn't be too surprising if they attempted to deal for Nola if there was any chance he was available.

He hasn't gotten off to the start he likely hoped for and is 2-2 with a 4.64 ERA in seven starts, but has a career 3.64 ERA and has reached 200 innings pitched in three out of the last four full seasons, not including the 60-game 2020 season. Nola is a one-time All-Star and certainly could help the Boston rotation make another jump. A move may be unlikely, but the club should be monitoring all potential options.

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