Washington Nationals: 3 potential landing spots for Stephen Strasburg
Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg is arguably the most coveted player in the free-agent market after winning the World Series MVP, so here are the landing spots for him.
Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg is no doubt going to get paid. His agent is Scott Boras, who has a reputation of dragging out the offseason in terms of getting his clients the most money as possible and that will be no different for the 2019 Washington Nationals World Series Most Valuable Player.
The Washington Nationals recently extended him a qualifying offer, and he has ten days to decide whether or not he is going to accept it or not.
It is obvious he is going to reject it and become an unrestricted free agent, as he just opted out of his 4 years, $100 million contract with the reigning World Series champs.
Strasburg is one of the best pitchers in the game, and he showed in the postseason which only increased his value on the market this winter.
He was able to propel his club to a Game 7 of the Fall Classic with over 8 innings of dominant pitching, one that certainly cemented his case to be the World Series MVP.
I think there will be fewer suitors for Strasburg than there will be for Cole, particularly because he has his mindset on what teams he is interested in and I don’t think he is one of those players that can’t wait to hit free agency to earn the most money he can.
I believe he has his sights on these few teams, and I don’t think Boras will be able to change his mind.
Suitor #1: San Diego Padres
Stephen Strasburg dominated in every game he pitched at San Diego State in his senior year, including striking out 23 of 27 batters in one of his starts. That season helped him be drafted as the first overall pick in the draft by the Washington Nationals.
Now let’s talk about the major league team that resides in San Diego.
The San Diego Padres are on the verge of being a force to be reckoned with for many years to come, but one of their missing pieces to the puzzle is frontline starting pitching.
Chris Paddack, Garrett Richards, and Dinelson Lamet will headline their rotation in 2020 with top prospect MacKenzie Gore and a young Luis Patino are shortly to follow at some point next season.
But I think they will be able to develop faster and be able to learn from a veteran like Stephen Strasburg at the top of that rotation.
Not to mention that he would be a perfect fit, and would be able to be close to his parents all season long instead of being across the country.
Padres owner Peter Seidler mentioned after the Jayce Tingler press conference last Thursday that the Padres are willing to complete another Manny Machado or Eric Hosmer type deal.
“If there’s another Hosmer contract or Machado contract that really makes sense, the answer from our organization is going to be, ‘Tell me more,’” he said. “If it lines up and it’s big money, we’re going to consider it.”
I think Strasburg is more than a perfect fit and would be greatly loved by Padres fans.
Let’s move to his second suitor, who is in dire need of starting pitching help.
Suitor #2: New York Yankees
Stephen Strasburg is going to be highly coveted but he might be coveted by teams because they strike out on getting the services of Gerrit Cole.
And the Yankees fall right into that category.
Gerrit Cole is rumored to want to return to the West Coast where he grew up and if that is true and he ends up with the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, or San Diego Padres, then I think the Yankees could enter in the race for the reigning World Series MVP.
I don’t see Strasburg initially wanting to go there, as I don’t see him as a guy that wants to be in the biggest market possible but if Brian Cashman shows keen interest and really convinces Strasburg that they can build around him then they might have a chance, just not as good of a chance as the Padres or the Nationals.
Regardless, the Yankees do have a hole which is the starting pitching so adding Strasburg would definitely help the pitching staff and could vault the Yankees further into the postseason in 2020 if they matchup against the Gerrit Cole-less Houston Astros, which they pushed to six games in this past season’s American League Championship Series.
Let’s move on to the 3rd suitor.
Suitor #3: Washington Nationals
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Stephen Strasburg helped deliver the city of Washington D.C. its first World Series championship in franchise history. He was shut down in 2012 in the postseason, which was highly criticized because it was arguably the best team the Nats fans had seen as of that point in time.
But GM Mike Rizzo didn’t let him pitch because he cared too much about his future and his health to jeopardize it so early in his career.
And I think Stephen Strasburg will remember that, so he knows that the Nationals have his full trust, and I think that could go along way.
He is obviously comfortable in a Nationals uniform, and he has made a family there.
I do think that Anthony Rendon will be the Nats’ biggest priority and rightfully so, as he is the one plays every day instead of once every fifth day, but in the case that they don’t re-sign Rendon, Strasburg could be able to get somewhere around $180 million.
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t think that Stephen Strasburg is one of those guys that will go to the team that offers him the most money.
Next. Phillies: Promises made to Joe Girardi for 2020. dark
He is already set for life and he is going to want to go to the team where he fits the best and the team that really wants to embrace him and he already has a team that does that in the Washington Nationals.