BY ART GARCIA SPORTS ILLUSTRATED TEXAS RANGERS NEWS, ANALYSIS AND MORE

The Texas Rangers nearly faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, if not for the Arizona Diamondbacks winning the last two games of the National League Championship Series on the road. (The Rangers did the same against the Houston Astros in the ALCS.) With free agency underway, the World Series champions could be in position to sign away the Phillies ace. Aaron Nola is likely headed out of Philadelphia, according to USA Today. The Phillies and the 30-year-old right-hander were about $100 million apart in contract negotiations last winter.

Nola is expected to command about $200 million on the open market. Philadelphia tendered Nola a qualifying offer on Monday, which is about $20 million for one year. Nola will decline, meaning the Phillies will receive draft compensation if he signs elsewhere. The Rangers could be that landing spot. Much could depend on the status of Jordan Montgomery, who became the club’s most reliable starter after the trade deadline and starred in the World Series run. Citing baseball insiders, USA Today has Nola as a prime Rangers’ target. Bringing Jordan Montgomery back makes the most sense, but certainly Nola and his durability is quite attractive to the Rangers’ rotation, with several GMs predicting Nola will end up in Texas. The Rangers learned last season that there’s never such a thing as too much starting

pitching. Jacob deGrom, the prized signing last offseason, was lost to Tommy John surgery. Nathan Eovaldi and Max Scherzer were also out for long stretches. Nola would immediately be a top-end starter for Texas. His 30.4 WAR from 2017-23 trails only Scherzer (37.0) and Gerrit Cole (32.3), per Baseball Reference. Nola has thrown 1,233 1/3 innings over the last seven seasons, second to just Cole (1,279 2/3). Nola is also third in strikeouts (1,393), seventh in wins (78) and WHIP (1.11), and ninth in

strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.31) since 2017. Nola grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended LSU. You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92. Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram. Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.