3 Free Agents the Rangers Must Sign to Repeat as World Series Champions
By Tyler Maher
2. Aaron Nola
Texas' starting rotation is in flux heading into next year. Jordan Montgomery, Martin Perez and Jake Odorizzi are all going to be free agents this winter, which frees up some money to spend on a starting pitcher or two. deGrom likely won't be back until the second half of the season as he continues to recover from elbow surgery, while Max Scherzer turns 40 next year and is likely to miss time as well.
Accordingly, the Rangers need to sign someone durable and reliable who can be counted on to anchor the rotation. In that case, Nola is the perfect man for the job.
Excluding the Covid-shortened 2020 season, Nola has made at least 30 starts and logged at least 180 innings in five straight seasons. He's a guy you can pencil into your rotation and expect to take the ball every fifth day, which is exactly what this team needs to survive a long, hot Texas summer.
He's also an absolute beast in the postseason. In 9 career playoff starts, Nola is 5-3 with a 3.70 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings. When the lights get brighter in October, you can trust Nola in big spots.
Nola's only 30, too, so he's still relatively young for a free agent and should have several more good years in front of him. He'd be a great signing for us.