Aaron Nola report proves he just used Braves to increase Phillies asking price.

Did Aaron Nola just use the Atlanta Braves interest to get what he wanted from the Phillies? An outline of his contract offers suggests as much.

Aaron Nola signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, agreeing to a seven-year deal worth $172 million. In the end, that was enough for the Phillies  to sign Nola, despite previous reports suggesting he wanted close to $30 million AAV over the course of seven seasons.

Players rarely get said demands. Shohei Ohtani might be a rare exception, but Nola did a tremendous job ensuring he can pocket every Phillies penny possible. In fact, an argument can be made that Nola used the Braves and Dodgers to increase his asking price.

“The Braves, off back-to-back 100-win seasons and divisional-round ousters by the Phillies, made a six-year, $162 million offer to Nola out of the chute, a source said Sunday…It was also neither the Braves’ final offer nor the only one that Nola received. The deep-pocketed — and pitching-starving — Dodgers put a finger on the scale at $165 million, according to a source,” Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

MLB Rumors: Did Aaron Nola use the Braves to increase Phillies price?

Nola received a higher AAV from both the Braves and Dodgers, and Atlanta reportedly make other offers to try and convince Nola to leave Philadelphia. However as Lauber reported, Nola’s intention was always to stay with the Phillies.

“Talks picked up late last week. Nola strongly preferred staying with the Phillies, and his agent Joe Longo let it be known that $172 million would get it done. The Phillies agreed, provided the contract was lengthened to seven years to reduce the average annual value to less than $25 million for luxury-tax purposes,” Lauber wrote.

Nola could have signed in Atlanta, but by doing so he would have gone against his primary intention, and also made himself a villain in the city he once called home. Instead, he will remain with Philadelphia, forming an elite rotation with Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez, among others.