Rise and Phight: 2/28/2023

Aaron Nola started yesterday’s game and looked quite good, ramping up the hope that the team will sign him to an extension prior to the season starting.

However, with Manny Machado inked for the next eleven years, suddenly Nola looks like the second best available option the free agent market next year. Why would he take an extension now when he can make a whole lot more money over the winter?

There is the injury factor, of course. Signing now means he’s gonna get paid a lot of money even if something happens to him as opposed to scaring teams off of investing in damaged goods. There’s also the personality factor where Nola might just be comfortable in Philadelphia and wants to give them every chance to keep him. I’m just wondering, at this point, why he wouldn’t just head to the market.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• Just as I publish a piece about how all the major outlets have posted their top prospects, here comes MLB Pipeline with their top 30 Phillies prospects.
• Edmundo Sosa is getting a crash course in center field. What exactly does that look like?
• Rhys Hoskins spoke to the media, calling his knee surgery a “non-issue”.
• Can Noah Song catch up on three years of inaction in baseball in only five short weeks? Michael Baumann takes a look at it.

MLB news:

• Rockies’ jerseys were being stolen by a thief after games. What happened next became a full fledged investigation.
• Gavin Lux left yesterday’s game on a cart after an ugly looking injury to his knee. The team is hoping for the best.
• For your listening ears, Fangraphs had their podcast that previewed the Phillies for the 2023 season along with the Orioles. Worth a listen.