Things about to get complicated for World Series champs
World Series champions hope to retain MVP pitcher Strasburg, slugger Rendon with new deals, writes Jesse Dougherty.
WASHINGTON Take a good, hard look at the Washington Nationals, who take that slow ride through the victory parade route this weekend. They won’t be all together for much longer. Not even World Series teams get to sidestep the realities of the off-season.
So now, already, the Nationals have to answer questions big and small.
World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg has until today to exercise an opt-out in his contract. He’s expected to, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation, and then Washington will be just one of many clubs trying to sign him.
All-star third baseman Anthony Rendon, a league MVP candidate, is now a free agent and negotiations are “sort of at square one,” according to one person with knowledge of them, though the Nationals remain committed to bringing him back.
Longtime face of the franchise Ryan Zimmerman has an Us$18-million option for 2020, which won’t be picked up, but both sides remain open to a cheaper short-term deal.
And the roster moves began just hours after the World
Series win when backup catcher Spencer Kieboom was outrighted to the minors and elected to become a free agent.
Rendon officially became a free agent Thursday morning, along with post-season star Howie Kendrick, Game 7 closer Daniel Hudson, “Baby Shark” fan favourite Gerardo Parra, second basemen Asdrúbal Cabrera and Brian Dozier, plus pitchers Fernando Rodney, Jeremy Hellickson and Jonny Venters.
Strasburg could soon lengthen that list by testing the market. Those close to the pitcher believe he would like to stay in Washington, where he moved his family last off-season and has been since the Nationals drafted him with the first overall pick in 2009. But the opt out is also perfectly timed to his career arc.
Strasburg signed a seven-year, $175-million extension in May 2016. He still has four years and $100 million left on that contract. Yet, the demand for him may never be higher. Strasburg won World Series MVP with two wins against the Houston Astros, including a Game 6 gem that lasted 8 1/3 innings. He became the first pitcher to post a 5-0 record in the post-season. He had a 1.98 ERA in six appearances.
He’s represented by agent
Scott Boras, like Rendon, and it was Boras who negotiated Max Scherzer’s seven-year, $210-million contract in January 2015. Scherzer was 30 and a Cy Young Award winner, when he signed that deal. Strasburg is now 30 and a World Series MVP, making it feasible to use Scherzer’s figures as a baseline.
Strasburg would be the second-biggest pitcher on the market behind Gerrit Cole. Strasburg’s standout regular season — 33 starts, a league-leading 209 innings, a 3.32 ERA — was complemented by marked improvements in his demeanour and approach.
“I’ve really learned that if I focus on the things that I can control, and I think I’ve learned that I’m a perfectionist, I’ve learned that I’m a control freak,” Strasburg said after the Nationals won the title. “And, in this game, it’s very hard to be perfect. It’s very hard to control things. But the one thing that you can control is your approach and how you handle your business off the field. And when you go out there and compete it’s just about execution.
“And you put in all the work in the off-season, in between starts, to go out there and try to be the best version of yourself. And that’s something you can control every time.”
The Nationals’ financial flexibility for Strasburg should fluctuate based on their outlook with Rendon. The third baseman stretched an Mvp-calibre season into the World Series. He had five RBIS in a Game 6 win. He hit a solo homer in Game 7, kick-starting the offence, and finished the post-season with a .328 average.
The Nationals and Rendon’s representation traded offers and counter-offers in the last couple months of the regular season. None of those were able to keep Rendon from testing a market that will welcome him as the top available position player.
The last proposal from the Nationals, made in early September, was a seven-year deal in the range of $210 million to $250 million. But it’s been apparent since the spring, when negotiations first heated up, that Boras is seeking to beat the eight-year, $260-million extension that Nolan Arenado signed with the Colorado Rockies last February.
That put Arenado’s average annual value at $32.5 million. The Nationals’ latest offer put Rendon right around $30 million. If Washington bumps that up to $35 million, a person with knowledge of negotiations believes a deal could get done. Rendon, 29, has also expressed an interest in retiring young, though it’s often hard to sift through his sarcasm.
When asked during the post-season where he sees himself at 36 years old, Rendon answered with a laugh, “Hopefully, not playing baseball,” before adding, “probably sitting on the couch hanging out with my kids.”
Both Strasburg and Rendon have unusual personalities. They crave being comfortable in their surroundings. They don’t like attention — from the media or otherwise — and neither has made extensive comments on their uncertain future.
But they were integral in bringing Washington its first championship in 95 years. They were drafted by the Nationals, developed in their farm system, and blossomed into stars on the biggest stage.
Those are just some of the reasons the Nationals have stated, again and again, their intentions to keep Rendon and Strasburg here for a long time. It’s just that doing so is about to get a lot more complicated.