Nationals P Stephen Strasburg will sign a seven-year, $175M contract extension with the club, and the deal "represents another development for the franchise: Not just a willingness to sign the players it has drafted and developed, but the ability to execute such a deal," according to Barry Svrluga of the WASHINGTON POST. The contract is "just an eyes-out-of-the-sockets stunner" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/10). In DC, Chelsea Janes cites sources as saying that the deal includes a "rolling opt-out after three or four years and performance bonuses for hitting 180 innings pitched each season, and it will likely include a significant amount of deferred money." Strasburg "would have become a free agent after this season" and likely would have been the "prize of the free agent starting pitcher market when he did." That he will "not reach free agency, and instead will re-sign with the Nationals, constitutes a surprise." He will be the first pitcher repped by agent Scott Boras not to reach free agency "since Jered Weaver signed a long-term deal" with the Angels in '11 (WASHINGTON POST, 5/10). FOXSPORTS.com's Nunzio Ingrassia noted Strasburg will make $7.4M this season, but that number "will jump" to $25M annually from '17-23. The deal's total value matches that of Mariners P Felix Hernandez for "sixth highest among big league pitchers" alltime (FOXSPORTS.com, 5/9).
MONEY ON THE TABLE: ESPN.com's David Schoenfield noted most experts "expected Strasburg to test the market like other Boras players, but that opt-out clause is undoubtedly a big reason Strasburg was willing to sign this extension." If he "gets hurt or pitches poorly, he can just take his Nationals' money; if he pitches well, he can still hit free agency when he's 30 or 31 and get another big deal if he desires" (ESPN.com, 5/9). ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza said of the extension, “There’s something about Strasburg and how comfortable he feels in a Nationals uniform and I think that is the most important thing for ... a young pitcher that is yet to ... hit his prime" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 5/10). SI.com's Jon Tayler notes there is "no question that he would have been in line for a tremendously lucrative deal had he entered free agency," and that is "particularly true given the rest of the market." That is "what makes this extension such a surprise." The last time any Boras client "agreed to stay with his team before hitting free agency" was in '13, when SS Elvis Andrus signed an eight-year, $120M deal to stay with the Rangers. The "key here is the presence of the opt outs, which offer Strasburg the opportunity to try free agency after" the '19 or '20 seasons, by which point he "will have banked at least" $75 or $100M. A "calculated bet on the part of Strasburg and Boras, the deal is a clear win for the Nationals, who lock up a key piece of their rotation at a below-market price." Meanwhile, Tayler notes the Nationals "have their work cut out for them in trying to convince" RF Bryce Harper and Boras to "eschew a record-setting contract for an extension -- one that has virtually no shot of being anywhere near as team friendly as Strasburg's" (SI.com, 5/10).
NATIONALS' TREASURE: ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian said of Strasburg's extension, “It’s a great deal for the Nationals, because he is the only free agent pitcher coming out next year, now he’s not coming out anymore, that really would have drawn tremendous interest. He would have gotten more than this in free agency, I’m sure, but it’s encouraging to me that someone said, ‘I don’t want to go to free agency. This is my team and I’m going to stay here'" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 5/10). MLB Net’s John Smoltz said the deal is "huge if you’re a Nationals fan." MLB Net's Sean Casey said, “I like it. That’s where the money is nowadays" ("MLB Tonight," MLB Network, 5/9). ESPN’s Eduardo Perez said, "It was a wise decision by the Nationals to lock him up.” ESPN’s Doug Glanville said, “The investment over that period of time is a big statement.” But ESPN’s Karl Ravech asked, "What will be left for (Harper)?” ("Tigers-Nationals," ESPN, 5/9). ESPN’s Aaron Boone said, "If you’re the Washington Nationals, ... you’ve assured yourself in that championship conversation now for a few years" ("Baseball Tonight," ESPN, 5/9).
BEST MOVE BY NATS? YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Passan writes "no team in baseball treats surgically repaired elbows with the same cocksureness" as the Nationals. The club "lavished enough cash on Strasburg to make what seemed like a free-agency fait accompli instead a monumental signing that smashed the previous record for a Tommy John recipient." The club's payroll "only will rise so high," even as LF Jayson Werth’s contract "comes off the books next season." The Nationals still have around $80M "tied up" in Strasburg, P Max Scherzer and 3B Ryan Zimmerman in '19, not to mention the $40M+ per season Harper "is likely to demand" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/10). SPORTING NEWS' Jason Foster wrote under the header, "Stephen Strasburg's Extension Certain To Backfire On Nationals." Strasburg's recent good form cannot "erase the other five years of his injury-riddled career, which makes the Nats' extension a puzzling gamble that seems based on wishful thinking and a way-too-small sample size." It is more likely the club "will regret this gamble long before it hangs a championship banner in the rafter at Nationals Park" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 5/9). SportsBusiness Journal's Eric Fisher tweeted that it "shouldn't be long" before Strasburg's name surfaces in legal briefs surrounding the team's case involving MASN.
RIPPLE EFFECT: In N.Y., Mike Puma writes the "cost of locking up the Mets’ young pitchers will be substantial, a fact that was reinforced" when Strasburg received his extension. Though Strasburg is "in a different category" than Mets Ps Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, the deal "serves as a barometer for the Mets if they try to lock up members of the group." Mets VP & Assistant GM John Ricco said, "Off the bat, it doesn't surprise me. From the numbers we saw this offseason, that is kind of the price of some of these top guys" (N.Y. POST, 5/10).
