Philadelphia Phillies right-hander and soon-to-be free agent Aaron Nola wants to remain with the only MLB team he's ever played for.
"Yeah, I hope so. I really do. I love it here," Nola said Monday when asked if he'd like to stay with the Phillies beyond this season, according to ASAP Sports. "Obviously, it's the only place I've been. I came up through some special times in the rebuilding era and getting to witness and be a part of a lot of different types of teams.
"To be on a team like I am now, it's really cool and special to see and to be a part of all the success and failures to get to where we are now."
Nola, who's starting Game 2 of the NLCS on Tuesday, has been with the Phillies for nine years. He endured a stretch of seven straight seasons without playoff baseball before a run to the 2022 World Series.
"No, I never really had that," Nola said when asked if he ever doubted the organization's ability to win. "I mean, I signed my contract going into 2019, so, obviously, I wanted to be here. I love the organization and all the staff and the players. Obviously, each year, better players came through, better guys coming through, forming new relationships, so obviously, I love that part about it."
The Phillies and Nola engaged in extension talks during the spring, but a deal never materialized. The 30-year-old reportedly set a deadline of Opening Day because he didn't want to negotiate during the season.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at the time that the team was "very open-minded to trying to sign him at the end of the season."
Nola owns a career 3.72 ERA with 1.13 WHIP and 10 K/9 over 1,422 innings (235 starts) with Philadelphia. The former All-Star and 2018 Cy Young finalist is poised to be one of the marquee free agents available at the conclusion of the World Series.
