Dream Phillies rotation if they sign another ace alongside Aaron Nola
By Kevin Henry
4. Corbin Burnes
Hey, we said "dream rotation," right? While it may be difficult in real life for the Phillies to make a deal that would entice the Milwaukee Brewers to part with Burnes, it has been reported that the Brewers would potentially be willing to part ways with the former Cy Young Award winner if they can "get an enticing package of pitching prospects in return." In that same article, Jim Bowden of The Athletic wrote that the Phillies are among the teams that, "would love to land Burnes even though they’d control him for only one year."
Sure, Burnes is scheduled to hit free agency in 2025, so this would be a short-term dream ... but imagine the Phillies pushing all of their chips into the middle of the NL East table by swinging a deal for Burnes. It would absolutely put the division and the rest of baseball on notice.
3. Aaron Nola
We leave the dream sequence to hop back into reality here with Nola. There may be signs that his effectiveness may not match the amount of money the Phillies shelled out to keep him, but Philadelphia also couldn't let him walk away to a team like the Braves or St. Louis Cardinals. Keeping him in-house was a wise move, even if the return on investment may decline as Nola ages.
But again, we're focusing on 2024 in this article and having Nola in the middle of this potentially stacked rotation would be something to behold. Manager Rob Thomson could even flip him with Burnes if he wanted in this fantasy world ... so imagine paying that much money for a number-four starter. That's how stacked this rotation could truly be.