Report: Braves, Cardinals among teams interested in Nola

The market for Aaron Nola is beginning to take shape.

Both the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals are among the teams showing interest in signing the free-agent right-hander, sources told Jon Morosi of MLB.com.

Nola, 30, is expected to command a huge contract as one of the best available arms this offseason. The Philadelphia Phillies tendered him a $20.325-million qualifying offer last week; if he declines the qualifying offer before Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline, he'll be attached to draft-pick compensation.

Nola would add even more firepower to a Braves rotation that already includes strikeout champion Spencer Strider and All-Star lefty Max Fried. He'd also be quite the coup for general manager Alex Anthopoulos after Nola dismantled the Braves during their last two playoff runs.

St. Louis, meanwhile, has been open about its desire to add pitching after a disappointing 2023 season. Nola would slot in as an instant ace for the club and could help revitalize a pitching staff that struggled throughout this past year.

Nola is coming off a bit of a difficult season in which he posted a 4.46 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 193.2 innings for the Phillies. However, he's only one year removed from finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting and pitched well during this year's playoffs, posting a 2.35 ERA in 23 postseason innings.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said last month that he's hopeful of retaining Nola, who's spent his entire career in Philadelphia.