Headlines

  • Lucas Giolito Converts Club Option To Mutual Provision
  • Yordan Alvarez To Miss Time With “Pretty Significant” Ankle Sprain
  • Giants To Promote Bryce Eldridge
  • Mets Moving Sean Manaea To The Bullpen
  • Blue Jays To Promote Trey Yesavage For MLB Debut
  • Dodgers Place Will Smith On Injured List
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Athletics
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Dave Lundquist

NL East Notes: Nola, Eppler, Hefner, Lundquist

By Leo Morgenstern | October 26, 2023 at 6:01pm CDT

The longest-tenured player on the Phillies, All-Star starting pitcher Aaron Nola, is set to hit free agency following the conclusion of the World Series. Meanwhile, his long-time rotation mate, Zack Wheeler, is entering the final season of the five-year, $118MM pact he signed ahead of the 2020 campaign.

Speaking to members of the media on Thursday (including Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia), president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that re-signing Nola is a priority and he hopes to retain the former Cy Young finalist. Nola, for his part, told reporters on Tuesday (including Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer), “I hope I’m back, for sure.” Thus, there seems to be mutual interest in keeping the right-hander in Philadelphia for the long haul.

However, a deal still has to get done, and both sides have acknowledged that it might not happen. Dombrowski says he will pivot to other front-line starters on the open market if he can’t come to an agreement with Nola, while the 30-year-old starter was more cryptic, simply admitting that he doesn’t know “what the future holds.” The two sides reached an impasse in extension talks last winter, with the ace reportedly seeking a much longer deal that the team was willing to offer.

Dombrowski also expressed a vague desire to keep Wheeler beyond the terms of his current contract, although he would not reveal if extension negotiations were part of his offseason plan.

In other news from the NL East…

  • Earlier this month, Billy Eppler stepped down from his role as general manager of the Mets amidst an investigation into his misuse of the injured list and injury rehab assignments. His departure from the organization came as quite a surprise, since most were expecting him to stay on as GM under new president of baseball operations David Stearns. Now, however, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Eppler would have been fired had he not resigned, and thus, he will be paid for the two years remaining on his guaranteed contract. Sherman notes that the inquiry is still ongoing, and it is unlikely MLB will announce a ruling before the end of the World Series. Given the scope of the investigation, it’s not hard to understand why the team chose to part ways with Eppler; Stearns has a busy enough offseason ahead of him as it is.
  • Sticking with the Mets, Martino reports that other teams are “under the impression” that Mets coaches are essentially available for hire, given the likelihood that a new manager will come in and clean house. Indeed, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is already drawing interest from at least one other club, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. However, Hefner prefers to wait and see if he fits into the team’s future plans (in other words, if the new manager wants to keep him on) before he takes an interview with another club. Hefner, who played for the Mets from 2012-13, has already survived two managerial hirings in his four years as the pitching coach, so it makes sense that he isn’t ready to pack his bags just yet.
  • Back to the Phillies, the team has announced that bullpen coach Dave Lundquist will not return for the 2024 season. Lundquist, 50, has been with the organization since 2018, starting as the pitching coach for Triple-A Lehigh Valley before becoming assistant pitching coach and then bullpen coach for the major league team. The bullpen has become a legitimate strength under his guidance, going from one of the worst in the league to one of the best in just three seasons. The Phillies are also parting ways with assistant hitting coach Jason Camilli, who joined the staff in 2022 after spending 15 years as a minor league hitting coach with the Nationals, Diamondbacks, and Reds organizations.
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Mets Notes Philadelphia Phillies Aaron Nola Billy Eppler Dave Lundquist Jeremy Hefner

61 comments
Show all
    Top Stories

    Lucas Giolito Converts Club Option To Mutual Provision

    Yordan Alvarez To Miss Time With “Pretty Significant” Ankle Sprain

    Giants To Promote Bryce Eldridge

    Mets Moving Sean Manaea To The Bullpen

    Blue Jays To Promote Trey Yesavage For MLB Debut

    Dodgers Place Will Smith On Injured List

    Dipoto: Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Josh Naylor

    Anthony Volpe Playing Through Partial Labrum Tear

    Orioles Promoted Mike Elias Prior To 2025 Season

    Anthony Rizzo Retires

    Cubs Place Kyle Tucker On Injured List

    Blue Jays Place Bo Bichette On Injured List

    Phillies Place Trea Turner, Alec Bohm On Injured List

    Sean Murphy To Undergo Hip Surgery

    Trea Turner To Undergo MRI Due To Hamstring Strain

    Davey Johnson Passes Away

    Mets Option Kodai Senga

    NPB’s Kazuma Okamoto, Tatsuya Imai Expected To Be Posted For MLB Teams

    Shelby Miller Likely Headed For Tommy John Surgery

    Red Sox To Place Roman Anthony On Injured List

    Recent

    Poll: Luis Robert Jr.’s Option

    Lucas Giolito Converts Club Option To Mutual Provision

    Brewers Place Jose Quintana On IL Due To Calf Strain

    Sandy Alcantara Is Finding His Old Form

    Rays Acquire Marshall Toole As PTBNL From José Caballero Trade

    Braves Claim Carson Ragsdale

    Royals Activate Cole Ragans From 60-Day Injured List

    Tigers Notes: Skubal, Bullpen, Vierling

    MLB Mailbag: Cardinals, Orioles, Astros, Schwarber, Casas

    Cardinals Shut Willson Contreras Down For Remainder Of Season

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version