Strasburg not only new deal winner
SAN DIEGO – It was no surprise that Stephen Strasburg decided to return to the Nationals, but the details of his contract are staggering.
Strasburg signed a record seven-year, $245 million deal Monday, obliterating the total value record of $217 million for a starting pitcher. That was set four years ago by David Price of the Red Sox.
The Strasburg deal leaves massive repercussions in its wake, starting with the likely departure of All-Star third baseman Anthony Rendon, a $300 million contract-inwaiting for pitcher Gerrit Cole, and an enhanced marketplace for the rest of the free agent pitching class.
Remember, Strasburg already had four years and $100 million remaining on his original contract when he opted out. He had a spectacular season, going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA and National League-leading 209 innings. He topped that by winning the World Series MVP Award. Still, no one was quite sure how much more Strasburg could command on the open market.
He turned it into an extra $145 million over three years, a cool $48.3 million a year.
Why, even at $245 million over seven years, Strasburg sets the record of $35 million a year for a pitcher, eclipsing Zack Greinke’s $34.3 million annual average salary with the Diamondbacks.
And just like that, it’s now quite possible that Cole, the No. 1 starting pitcher on the free agent market, becomes the first $300 million pitcher in history.
The Yankees are preparing to make their first offer Mon
day for Cole, a high-ranking official with knowledge of their plans told USA TODAY Sports. They were granted anonymity because the Yankees have not publicly discussed details of possible negotiations.
The Angels and perhaps the Dodgers also are expected to submit bids this week, according to a person familiar with the teams’ plans. The person was granted anonymity because the nature of the discussions are not public.
The Yankees certainly will be offering more than $245 million now. Cole should be wearing pinstripes by the end of the week.
It certainly is a financial bonanza, too, for free agent starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner, whose request for a $100 million deal no longer seems unreasonable.
The Nationals, who drafted Strasburg with the first pick in 2009, will have paid him about $370 million by the end of his contract, which includes a full no-trade clause and no opt-outs, and perhaps an all-expenses trip to
Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Yet while the contract triggered the Nationals’ biggest celebration since their World Series parade, the fallout is that their other top All-Star free agent – Rendon – will be wearing a different uniform when the Nats have their ring ceremony.
Strasburg’s contract includes more than $80 million in deferrals with interest, but no team has ever had two players earning at least $200 million, and Rendon is expected to command about $260 million on the open market this offseason.
Besides, Nationals owner Mark Lerner already revealed last week that they couldn’t afford to keep Strasburg and Rendon.
“We really can only afford to have one of those two guys,” Lerner told NBC Sports Washington. “They’re huge numbers. We already have a really large payroll to begin with.”
So Rendon is gone, with the Rangers, the Phillies and the Dodgers all in hot pursuit.
That’s fine with the Nationals. They have their World Series championship.
And they have the face of their franchise back.
They can sit back and let everyone else worry about the cost of acquiring Rendon and Cole, knowing that by the time agent Scott Boras finalizes the deals for his clients, they might have gotten a steal.