O declines his free agent target as he is about to sign with Texas

A pitcher that the Baltimore Orioles have been connected to in free agency turned down his one-year qualifying offer on Tuesday.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola can now seek a multi-year deal after passing on a guaranteed $20.325 million in 2024.

Nola is a pitcher that some have connected to the Orioles as a potential veteran backstop to a young pitching staff.

Recently, in Sports Illustrated, the site ranked the top 50 free agents this season and

In the case of the Orioles, they attached the O’s to Nola.

Adding Nola would give the Orioles a vet that could be positioned along with Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells. It would also be a huge get for a team that won 101 games and the AL East in 2023 and is positioning itself to do more next postseason.

Nola will test the market after a 2023 in which he went 12-9 with a 4.46 ERA with 202 strikeouts and 45 walks. He’s recorded at least 200 strikeouts in each of his last five full seasons.

The Phillies may want him back, but the Orioles are among the teams that could be a good landing spot for Nola, who has a 90-71 record and a 3.73 ERA and spent his entire career with the Phillies after they took him in the first round in 2014.

Nola made his MLB debut a year later and has since made one All-Star Game appearance, one World Series appearance and finished in the Top 10 of Cy Young voting three times.

Last offseason, the Phillies and Nola tried to work toward a long-term extension but were described as being far apart, perhaps as far as $100 million apart on terms. He just wrapped up a five-year, $100 million deal that he signed during his arbitration years.

It wasn’t a surprise that Nola turned down the offer to pursue a long-term deal. Only seven players received the qualifying offer this offseason, and only 13 of the 124 players that have received it since 2012 have accepted it.

That pick could come between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A, after Competitive Balance Round B, which follows the second round, or after the fourth round, depending upon who signs Nola.

The Orioles’ significant free-agent departures are Kyle Gibson and trade-deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty.