Braves rumors: Sonny Gray problem, Nola offer, another missed opportunity

Braves Rumors: What did Atlanta offer Aaron Nola, and what was their competition?

The Atlanta Braves were reportedly one of several teams interested in Aaron Nola, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"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.

The Braves were unwilling to go to seven years in their initial offer, which likely cost them a real chance at Nola. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Phillies also made known offers to the ace. With the Braves offer in hand -- which would have paid Nola about $27 million AAV -- he had plenty of ammo to go back to the negotiating table with Dave Dombrowski, which ultimately worked out in his favor.

"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.

This is common from agents of star athletes. Essentially, the Braves were used by Nola and his representation to up the anté, of sorts. Philadelphia is where Nola always wanted to end up.