San Diego Padres: 4 reasons why Pads are favorites to land Strasburg
Stephen Strasburg is a free agent and the San Diego Padres need a frontline ace, so here’s why they are a favorite to bring him home.
Stephen Strasburg once struck out 23 batters in one game as a starter in his final season at San Diego State University. And he could very well be striking out batters again in San Diego–in the brown and gold.
Kevin Acee of the SD-UT reported that the San Diego Padres are expected to make an attempt to sign the 2019 World Series MVP and that there are numerous people in the organization who believe that GM A.J. Preller will be able to convince his boss, Ron Fowler, to spend for the third straight offseason.
Here are some reasons why he is a fit and why San Diego is a favorite.
The Padres don’t have many options
The San Diego Padres have a lot of young arms in the rotation including Chris Paddack with MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino not far behind, but what they do not have is a front line starting pitcher.
Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen has already said that he is not trading Noah Syndergaard, which means that is one less option for the Padres to check the starting pitcher box.
And Gerrit Cole seems to be out of their price range but Strasburg is a different story.
It is time for San Diego to win
The Padres have been rebuilding for years now ever since Preller’s plan to bring in Matt Kemp, Craig Kimbrel, and Justin Upton didn’t work out.
Ron Fowler has already said that if the team does not perform better in 2020 and 2021 there will be changes, which means A.J. Preller could be out of a job if they don’t contend for the whole 2020 season.
The Nats might have to choose between Rendon or Strasburg
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The Washington Nationals didn’t bring back Bryce Harper and instead decided to spend on starting pitching and perhaps save for this offseason when they would have to pay for Anthony Rendon.
Well, Stephen Strasburg is also a free agent so GM Mike Rizzo is faced with a big question: Who do you want to give the money to?
Anthony Rendon seems to be the answer, as he is an everyday player in addition to the fact that even without Strasburg the Nats will still have a strong rotation that would include Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin.
So, it seems like if that happens then Strasburg could slide into the San Diego Padres lap if Ron Fowler is on board.
It’s time for him to come home
Stephen Strasburg completely dominated at San Diego State, a journey that led to being the #1 overall pick.
He has done his job with the Nats, which was to win a World Series, so why not come back home and live with his family.
He and his wife’s parents live in San Diego County, so I think he would be happy if he could take a 20-minute drive to Petco Park every day instead of being across the country.
And why not do it for his late coach Tony Gwynn?
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It is going to be an interesting decision for Strasburg, but if he is on board why wouldn’t the San Diego Padres be?