4:02pm: The Nationals have announced the agreement. The deal also comes with incentives, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Strasburg will earn $500K for an MVP win, $250K for a second-place finish, $350K for third, $100K for fourth and $75K for fifth. His Cy Young incentives are the same. He’d take home $250K for another World Series MVP. An All-Star appearance, a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger are each worth another $100K apiece.
1:48pm: The defending World Series champs and the game’s biggest agent have kicked off the Winter Meetings with a bang. The Nationals have reached agreement on a new contract with star righty Stephen Strasburg, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. It’s a stunning seven-year deal that guarantees the Scott Boras client a whopping $245MM, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The sides will announce the deal this afternoon.
If there was ever any doubt as to the stability of the relationship between the Nats and the player once hailed as a franchise savior, this contract resolves it. There’s a full no-trade clause, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets. The contract does not come with options or opt-outs, per Tim Brown of Yahoo (via Twitter). About $80MM of the money is deferred, Bob Nightengale of USA Today adds on Twitter, but they will include interest, per Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal (Twitter link).
We had come to expect a record-setting pitching deal this winter, but not from Strasburg. Top-of-the-market ace Gerrit Cole had long figured to top David Price for the biggest-ever rotation contract. He’s certain still to do so … quite likely by far, far more than had been anticipated. Strasburg has now blown the prior $217MM record out of the water. It also tops the average-annual value record held previously by Zack Greinke.
Way back when the 2019 season began, it was highly questionable whether Strasburg would even opt out of the four years and $100MM left on his prior extension with the Nationals. The former top overall draft choice ended up turning in a huge regular season followed by an iconic postseason, leading the Nats to a long-awaited World Series berth. It was everything that he and the organization dreamed of when he was selected first overall back in 2009 and then made a stirring debut in 2010. That he navigated a devastating Tommy John surgery, shutdown controversy, and various travails thereafter only made it all the more meaningful.
It has been a rollercoaster for the Nats faithful, which watched Bryce Harper head to the rival Phillies last winter. Strasburg is back … but what about Anthony Rendon, who was the third consecutive first-round pick that president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo knocked out of the park. Ownership has said it doesn’t believe it can sign both Strasburg and Rendon. While that claim is worth questioning, it’s also quite a bit more understandable now that we know just how much the club had to pay to retain the former.
We’ll have to wait and see whether the Nats continue to pursue Rendon. But there’s an obvious impact on his market, which includes quite a few other major bidders. It’s also not difficult to see the connections between Strasburg’s signing and the still-developing rotation market. Pressure soared on the pitching market and the NL East arms race when the Phillies inked Zack Wheeler to a $118MM pact, snatching him from the Mets. With multiple teams pushing for Cole, and some viewing Strasburg as a major fallback target, the Nats acted decisively to bring back their ace. Having now secured larger-than-expected early strikes for Strasburg and Mike Moustakas, Boras can turn to ratcheting up the bidding on Cole, Rendon, and his other major open-market clients.
It’s quite something to see a contract of this magnitude for a 31-year-old pitcher just one winter removed from a spate of high-end hurlers inked extensions. Two aces in a similar age bracket — Jacob deGrom and Chris Sale — received much more modest guarantees. Those pitchers were obviously protecting against the risks of pitching in the majors, but they were also surely cognizant of a frigid free agent market. Now, it seems the thaw may be on … though how far it will extend remains to be seen.
To be sure, Strasburg not only ensconced himself in Nats lore but reaffirmed his top-shelf status in 2019. He topped two hundred innings for the second time in his career and worked to a 3.32 ERA that may actually have belied the true quality of his effort. With 10.8 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, and a 51.1% groundball rate, he showed all the skills that help a pitcher generate outs. Strasburg graded at a 3.25 FIP, 3.17 xFIP, and 3.49 SIERA in 2019. His 13.4% swinging-strike rate was a career high, though he’s now averaging about two ticks less on his fastball than he did for much of his career. And he showed yet more in a blistering run through the postseason, when he allowed just eight earned runs with a ridiculous 47:4 K/BB ratio over 36 1/3 innings, topping it all off with a World Series MVP.
The risks are equally obvious. Though he has avoided another devastating arm injury, Strasburg averaged 145 innings annually between 2015-18 and has had arm scares throughout that time. (He also carried a 3.27 ERA in that span.) He’s now under contract through his age-37 campaign.
While the Nats are obviously pleased with the output they’ve received to this point, having now twice inked Strasburg to massive contracts, they’re still banking on quite a bit more in the second half of his career. The club has now expanded its already huge commitment to its trio of high-end starters, with Strasburg now topping the big salaries promised to Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin. Washington’s 2020 prospects will be determined in no small part by the way in which these hurlers bounce back from a Herculean postseason effort.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cool beans
In more important news: Anthony Rendon just found out he will not be returning to the Nationals and Gerrit Cole discovers that he is going to be the first $300 million pitcher in history.
In all seriousness you have to assume Cole is going to completely reject the Yankees 7 year $245M offer considering he is younger, better and usually healthier than Strasburg. $300 mill could be a stretch but he is easily worth $55 mill more than whatever Stras gets. I’m guessing Cole will except nothing short of a minimum 8 year $280M contract with no deffered $, full no trade clause and a healthy number of opt outs. With all this deffered money the Nats hand out they are eventually going to have to have a very expensive team filled with a bunch a cheap players. I guess it makes sense to go for it while you can but they are definitely giving up on whatever their team will be about 5-10 years in the future.
depends how the contract is structured. The way the Nats do things, the actual deal with be worth much less because it’ll be deferred through Strasburg’s 80s or 90s.
factor in interest he’ll be receiving, could still be worth it for strasburg. especially if he moves to a state with no income tax after he retires
Whether Cole will accept 8/280 depends on whether 8/280 is offered.
Because the Nats lost their minds doesn’t mean everyone else will. The Pujols deal didn’t portend a massive escalation in salaries for aging HOFers, but instead all but ended them–so we’ll see.
If you’re right, though, and someone offers Cole 8/280, that only makes the Nats deal stranger–wouldn’t you want the younger, better, healthier pitcher for 35m more 8 years from now?
I agree that Cole is heading into the $300 million range, but there is no offer from the Yankees for him to reject. Not sure why people keep repeating that. The Yankees don’t leak their offers, and in fact they’ve been clear they *intend* to make an offer to Cole at the winter meetings. In other words, whatever offer they’re making is still to come. The 7/245 was almost assuredly put out there by Boras knowing full well that Strasburg was about to sign for that amount, so he’s now created a false belief that there was an offer to Cole for 7/245, which means all teams have to beat that number. He’s playing the market like he always does and is why he’s the best agent out there.
You don’t understand how deferred money works. As soon as they sign that player they put the deferred money aside and collect the interest on it.
they just won the WS. They know what they are doing.
I’ve pegged Gerrit Cole exactly.
Nine years for $315 million.
Smart money too.
This will ultimately prove a very regrettable deal but credit the Nationals for aggressively pursuing their target.
Can’t really call this contract record breaking since 80 mill is deferred. So it’s more like a 7 year 165 mill deal with them saying we’ll owe you 80 mill
The deferrals come with interest so it doesn’t lose any present day value
Here come the avalanche of deals…
And boom goes the dynamite.
OMG!!!!
Rendon: “ight imma head out now”
Lol, had the same thought.
Rendon to Texas i think.
From your lips to God’s ears!
he returns to the nats adnn win another WS. life is not all about money.
That was quick that the Nationals re-sign Strasburg. This means that Rendon is not returning to the team.
Rendon at Championship Parade:
Then he praised the Washington fans and their performance in the playoffs.” We felt it, and that’s going to go a long way, don’t worry,” he said.
I’m not worried, Tony!
Think the Nats even offer him anything close to his market value? I don’t think so. I would lower your expectations.
Relax – Rendon will sign by Wednesday with Nats.
7/220.
They will still be under the cap.
He already turned that down.
There is no cap in Baseball. They can spend as much as they want . There is a luxury tax .
I think he is going to get more in the neighborhood of 7/240 – and it will probably come from Texas or LA. But I think signing Stras long term was a no brainer.
The Nats said its one or the other. Not both.
You’re right. There is no cap. However, the luxury tax does act like a soft cap. If that were not the case the Red Sox and Cubs wouldn’t be trying to shed payroll right now.
He knew what was meant. Everyone knew what he meant when he said cap. Mikel is just being pedantic.
No it doesn’t. Depending on how the Strasburg deal is structured, he might be only making a few million more than he made last year. And the Nats made tens of millions in the playoffs. If they don’t sign Rendon it will be for other reasons, such as they’d prefer Donaldson on a lighter contract. What their owner said was just for leverage.
Nats are deferring over $80 million on the deal. So there’s room for Rendon
He even topped Bobby Bonilla.
Nailed it!!
If they do this on pretty much every notable free agent signing, why do players still sign there? Time value of money matters.
They are promising interest on the deferred money, apparently.
You would save a little on taxes by spreading it out more, although it would be fairly limited. They may be able to move to a better tax state before the payoffs finish and limit it more this way.
@ChapmansVacuum, you pay taxes in the state you’re employed, not the state you live in. So he could move wherever, and his tax rate on his income would stay the same.
Also, getting $10M a year for the next 30 years sounds better than getting $245 over 7. He’s already set for life way before this contract, whats the big deal in spreading the payments out. If he gives generously to charity each year he could also decrease his tax burden. I think taking a deferral with interest is the smart way to play it and I don’t understand why more stars don’t take it more often. Should be standard, I’m sure the Nats don’t come close to giving him 200+ without the deferral
Nats can do without Rendon. If he and Strasburg were more affordable, sure – pay.
But Howie can play 3B part-time – 1B and 3B are now his best positions. They’ll work Carter Kieboom in at 2B and 3B (he’s ready to play at the big league level), probably signing Asdrubal again – he can play 1B, 2B, and 3B part-time as well (the Nationals tend to rest their older vets to maximize production).
Tony two-bags will be missed. But to be a sustainable contender at this point, they need to develop their young pitchers – Voth, Rainey, Fedde, Suero, and others. Howie can bat 3rd when he plays -Asdrubal at other times. The 1B’s they sign – probably Zim and Adams – can hit 5th. If the young pitching improves, they can make up for Rendon’s loss.
I’m pretty sure the tax rate at $1m is the same as $25M. Deferred with interest is cool but generally I would advise anyone to get as much money up front as possible.
Vandals…….Vannnnnnnnnnndals! Do you have my Handles?
That’s a good point. I forgot about the Nationals proclivity to protracted contracts.
Right
But that doesn’t matter when counting against the luxury tax. Deferred money doesn’t change their tax bill.
This one is unsurprising for some reason.
The amount is $45-$65 MM above what was being projected.
Cole and Boras are probably happiest about this news.
Well, depends on what Strasburg agreed to. May hurt Cole’s value if he agreed to less than what Boras hoped for and did so because he just wanted to stay put with a raise. It would help Cole though if because there would be more bidding for his services now that Strasburg is staying put.
Well,…. your are right highandtight, Now that the figures came out, Boras is doing his happy dance as we speak.
Pretty sure Stras is doing the same dance. That is a lot of scratch.
Get 7/245M. I’d say Cole is thrilled lol
It sounds like Strasburg heard the opening offer from the Yankees to Cole and told the Nationals: “I want that one.”
5/150?
7/220
sorry 7/245
Maybe the Nats bid against themselves too! 🙂
You always bid against yourself when you’re resigning your own player, but continuity is impt after a World Series win. No one doubts now that they could repeat…
Agreed. Even if they lose Rendon (huge loss) they’ll still have a solid core.
I doubt them. Cubs Astros and red Sox didn’t repeat . Hader doesn’t throw the hanger they don’t get out of wild card game . Baseball GODs give and they take
Hard to believe the whole post-season turned on this, and on Yellich sitting instead of the rookie Grisham. But there it is.
Well of course it’s hard to repeat. I don’t even think they’re the best team in that tough division (Braves), but they are real good and will be competitive again in 2019. With our without Rendon.
Wow. That took like five minutes to escalate.
7 years for $220. Wow
Wow $220! Not bad for opting out. Great deal for Stras
ok Cushman you better not miss out on cole now
*Cashman
Guys probably busy producing high quality golf carts
I now actually believe that they cant have both. Still hoping they can find a way.
Somebody get the popcorn this is gonna be good. Who next to sign?
Nice! Strasburg is clearly a capitalist. Career year in his age 30 season, parlayed into one of the biggest contracts for a pitcher in league history. Good for him. Probs not the best for the Nats in the long term
THE biggest pitcher contract in history. Soon to be eclipsed by Cole.
happened last year in NFL … wasnt it like 4 or 5 highest contracts one after the other?
Nice cachola…
MLB Network just did an awesome segment about his secondary stuff being even better than his fastball so less to worry about in terms of longevity except (and a BIG accept) his arm health. The guy literally did not throw a single fastball above 96 this year, ZERO!
Also they just upped it to 7/245
baseballsavant.mlb.com/player-scroll?player_id=544… says his top FB speed was 96.6 in 2019. That seems pretty fast…
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/stephen-stras…
clearly states avg. fastball velocity was 93.9 and topped out at 96.6…doesn’t say how many times…maybe mlb network over extended but the point is that he came up as a velo guy and now doesn’t even avg. 94 on the four seam….most guys who have had success when older have moved to offspeed stuff with control and the point was that he already has that as the four seem isn’t even his top pitch thrown by %
Excuse me. 7 years for $245,000,000
They’re now reporting the deal is more like 7 years and $245 mil… Wow
So there’s your benchmark.
Lotta money
Cole’s number just went up to 8 years. Congrats to him. And Strasburg.
Way too many years and way too much money for a guy that hasn’t been a picture of health and didn’t put it all together until he turned 31
Agreed
If you want to talk about his health, there is some validity there. Over the past 3 years, he’s averaged 28 starts and 171 IP, while he’s averaged 168 IP and 28 starts over his 8 year career. However, saying he only just put it all together is completely untrue. Over the past 3 seasons, his average season is a 3.15 ERA, 3.16 FIP and 142 ERA+. Over his 8 year career, his average season is a 3.21 ERA, 3.04 FIP and 129 ERA+. He’s had season where he’s led the league in FIP and strike outs and also had 2 top 5 CYA finishes and another top 10. When he takes the mound, he’s a true top of the rotation arm.
As a #2 starter behind Scherzer. With Scherzer carrying the load. He’s getting paid like the best pitcher in baseball, when he’s never been the best pitcher on his own team.
I’d like to think if you read through your argument you will see how uninformed it sounds, but either way, Cole is about to be paid as the best pitcher in baseball and he wasn’t the best SP on his team the last couple of years either.
except for this year, you mean
Nats will regret this deal for eternity.
245 is insanity
7/245 for a 31 year old? Idk thats an overpay but hes a beast.
Good job Boras.
Of course it is too much but that is the cost of doing business. If the Angels have a chance at signing Cole it will probably take 300 million plus. A contract like that for a starting pitcher is way too risky, especially considering the Angels luck with pitchers. Let the Yankees deal with it. The Angels are several pieces away from being a solid contender. They need to concentrate on developing their own pitching.
I say let the Yanks follow Cole to $275MM then punt to the Angels. As much as I want the Yanks to pick up a true #1, no pitcher is worth even that much.
You also have been a team very very lucky to have a generational type talent in Trout, who is patient enough to be on a crap team his entire career.
You owe it to Trout to get him a team around him, go get Cole!!
Well now cole will looking for 300 million
Ho-lee-fuq!!! Yanks may need to rethink that offer to Cole. Dude’s suitor pool just increased. We may see complete stupidity unfold!
Suitor pool? As in market size? I would say his market size decreased to those who are willing to spend $270MM or more. If it gets to the level, I hope the Yanks pass.
Wow. If Strasburg got 7/$245, then that means Cole might get $300 mil
I’m gonna puke
Excuse me — I’m going to go work on my pitching mechanics now. $$$$$
I’m only 59. I’ve still got something left in the tank. 🙂
Almost 600 Million invested by the Nats in the Rotation….ill just leave this here
As an Indians fan, that’s just crazy to me. They have arguably the best rotation in the game (and if not then it’s close), and they’ve paid a fraction of that to assemble it.
As a White Sox fan, admire the tightrope job the Tribe have done to reload and develop on a perennial basis. Interesting to see how they manage the endgame for Kluber and Lindor- assuming they’ve decided to build around Jose
Cole 8/300?
That was my first guess after seeing Strasburg’s numbers. No way Cole doesn’t at least set a new record for an SP now
If Stras got 245 I think 300 is a given for Cole.
7/$245 is the offer probably four or five teams have and 8/$280 is the topper that gets it done for one probably unlucky team that gets a league average pitcher for four of those eight years.
No Way hes not taking the same annual $$ as Strasburg. I think at this point its 8 for $304 or even 9 for $340
That would be a disaster for any team — even or maybe especially the Yankees.
@CrewBrew
It will be more but no need for it to be anywhere near $300 ml.
7/$260 sounds right
7/252 or 8/285 for Cole is my guess.
Wouldnt put it past Boras though. The Yankees are desperate, and so are the Angels.
He could play the Yankees until it gets closer to 300
I wonder if Boras is a good tipper
WOW. !!!
I knew it was gonna take more than a $100 million extension. This guy was gonna for the top of the market. Nice. For Him.
He opted out of $100MM, lol of course he was seeking more than a $100MM extension, otherwise he would not have opted out.
Sweet. A much happier offseason for fans instead of long holdouts! Congrats Stephen
3/5th of Washington’s rotation costs $600 million. LMAO.
Would love to the #5 SP making minimum wage in that rotation. You’ll never have to pay for a dinner again.
They’ll regret it in 4 years. When he starts to break down
Whether they regret it hinges entirely on whether they win with him on the team. That’s all that matters.
What? If his arm ever flops they won’t win with him on the team.
7yr/245
Wow just wow. There top 3 pitchers almost 600 million in total contracts.
Have to say that I am shocked by this. I have been a fan of Strasburg since day 1 and did not want to ever see him leave. However this is a huge overpay that will cripple the Nationals for many years. Especially in the later years when he is not that productive.
I personally thought 5 years $150 million was fair and 6 years $180 would be an overpay given his age and injury history.
I am thinking the Nationals bid against themselves in this one. Boras strikes again.
Cripple? Hardly. The MASN/O’s owe the Nats more than that salary
(plus interest) and that will wind thru the courts before Strasburg’s contract is comple. Plus $80 million is deferred. The Lerners can afford it and will rake in attendance this season. The WS win will grow the DC market.
Who’s hitting clean-up for the World Champs?
Exactly my point!
Washington spending like they’re literally going under water!
Sly move by Boras. He used Stras to bump up the values on the “highest ever deal.”
The Yankees were at 7/$245 for Cole and now they have to come upwards because Cole “has to get more.”
I say 7/260 tops for the Yankees or else let him sign somewhere else. Stras has 80m deferred so until we know the interest rate and the terms of the period of the deferral, we don’t know the true present value of the deal. Cole will be paid per year until the contract is up. His contract will be more valuable than Stras.
Let him sign somewhere else has been the Yankees rallying cry for too long…
I wonder if his arm lasts seven years…
I wonder if his arm lasts seven starts…
I was concerned about 7 innings.
7 pitches?
7 long-tosses
7 letters into signing his name on the contract?
It’s not crazy to think that Cole might get 8 years and at least $280 million ($35mil/yr) now…
I thought he would get that before this. He’s blowing past 300m now.
Stras and Greinke is getting paid $35 mil.. with Cole being the only premier pitcher in market, he’s getting minimum $38 mil.. since he’s 2 yrs younger than Stras.. I’d think hes gonna shoot for 9/ 340 mil.
I guess after 2 offseasons of hesitation, front offices are back to giving out contracts that they’ll regret. Strasburg is great, but he’s not worth $245 million. He has only one season in the past 5 where he’s pitched more than 180 innings. With his injury history, this is a big overpay.
That means bye bye Rendon
Padres probably will now sign Ryu on a 2-3 worth around 35mil for two/47mil for three with maybe a player or club option.
Ryu now back to LA
Well, it helps when there are no draft picks attached.to an elite talent to get get the final deal don.e.
whoever gets Cole is going to regret it a year earlier now it seems
Not surprising, they needed him more than they need Rendon.
Do they? They already had Scherzer and Corbin. Whereas Rendon and Soto were the main anchors in their lineup
Kieboom will take some of that pain away. Like Robles did when Harper left.
Means I finally got one right….Glad to see it; Stras belongs in DC till the end….and even without Tony Two Bags, they’re still in the playoff hunt…..
Gotta wonder what it does for a Ray and other reasonably priced starters on the trade market….drives the prospect/player price up I would think….
So is this the time to jump on the bandwagon and get all the starters you can? Or TRADE all the starters you can? MMMMMM……….
This is a stunningly huge contract on the surface. I wonder what the structuring looks like? I don’t know as this will impact Cole’s offers much. Teams were willing to pay what they were willing to pay beforehand. Just because the Nationals made what appears to be a competitive overpay here doesn’t mean other teams are going to offer money for the sake of meeting Cole’s personal goals to be the highest paid, etc.
Cole is also repped by Boras. I’ll take the over on him signing above Strasburg’s deal.
Congrats to Cole. Oh yeah, Stras as well!
It’s going to take at least $252/7 to sign Cole.
Wonder if his rookie cards will go up in $$ too….lol
wth will Cole get now ? Angel’s please just bow out now and get ryu and bum/keuchel. please
I’m guessing there will be deferrals that bring the present day value down around $220-$225 million. Still a great contract for Stras.
What a great deal. Strasburg earned it and the Nats deserve to be the team he stays with. They took care of him after his Tommy John and they earned this too. GREAT DEAL
Cole just got a chubby
And 127 women (likely 5 guys) who want to help him with that situation.
Lol Like the name, Sucio
The Nats owners comments about not being able to resign both make a lot more sense now.
No. Strasburg made $38m LAST YEAR. They are likely going to pay him less in 2020 than they did in 2019. They have plenty of room to sign Rendon. The guys that move might affect are Turner and Soto, not Rendon.
Strasburg made $35 million last year. I think it’s better to wait to see how the deal is structured before making guesses but Sky is right. The Nats owner did say it was unlikely they could sign both.
Would be hysterical if Stras takes $10M a year for the first 3 years, and they re-sign Rendon on a 3-year deal at say $40M a season.
ladies and gentlemen, the free agent freeze is officially over
So much for the Dodgers going after big free agents. Once again! Friedman is a joke! Cole will sign with Angels or Yankees and we clearly need pitching more than anything.
Great deal for Strausburg though. Congrats to him and the Nats fans, he’s a stud!
Way, wayyyy too much money. There is no doubt in my mind that deal will be regrettable. Now that $238mil guarantee the Phillies offered to Cole this morning is certainly going to be rejected. That ForrestCobra guy said 10/310 for Cole and I thought he was crazy. Cole will almost certainly get 8/280 now. Sheesh, never ceases to amaze me how much these front office’s are willing to overpay
On the surface, these type of contracts rarely work out for the team on the backend. However, you can argue that teams are knowledgeable and realize that elite players may be (dare I say) underpaid during their peak performance years.
Maybe Bum will get his 9 figures
He probably will the Cardinals seem like great landing spot for him
wow… congratulations Stephen & the Nationals
Lets see how much is deferred. I bet some of it is, which keeps the window open for Rendon to come back (as he said he wants to…)
Ryu most likely goes to the padres for 35-45 mil for 2 years and club/player option
Wonder how pricey the insurance premiums will be on the policy to cover the Nats if Strasburg goes down with a career threatening injury. Considering his injury history, the risk will be set high for Strasburg.
OMG this made my jaw drop, 7 for 245!!!! WTF This makes cole shiver with excitement, but it makes me glad because 1. the rangers aren’t going after pitchers now 2. the yankees have to pay cole more. #bankrupt
Good for him!
Good for them paying out , stras has been through some good seasons on some bad seasons there , now pay Zimm and keep it rollin
What’s that sound? It’s the sound of the Yankees shredding the contract they were preparing for Cole.
This blows away the expected figure so much you have to think Cole can now push into the $300 million area.
What a risk for such an injury prone pitcher. I can’t believe Rizzo didnt just let him walk at that price.
Yeah, I’m sure the Nats won’t start regretting this contract in 3 or 4 yea… uh.. starts.
My guess is Rizzo had little to do with this contract. This was Boras going straight to Ted Lerner like he did the last time.
Wow….the end of this contract is going to hurt
The beginning of this contract is probably going to hurt.
Even though I’m a Braves fan, I’m happy this happened. It would have been really strange to see him in another uniform. Good for Stras.
Phillies: something something “stupid money.”
Nats: Hold my beer.
I was thinking about this. Couldn’t figure out how to roll into the joke. Well done.
Yeah, Cole and Boras are on video chat with each other right now and both are just screaming “Show me the money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”:
Yeah and over 80 million of it is in deferred money.
So he doesn’t get it because it’s deferred?
Do you have a source on the contract structuring or are you guessing?
It’s in the article.
Yes it is. Hopefully that’s my moron moment for the day.
Wow that’s way too much lol
I’m feeling better and better about the Cole Hamels deal.
Wow! 7 and $245 for Stras! This free agent market is getting freaking nuts!! Cole is now going to ask for over $300 million!
7/$245 for a 31 year old Strasburg is insane, and not in a good way. That’s just an absolutely terrible contract for the Nationals. Like, really bad.
Strasburg deserves to get paid, especially for what he did to bring the Nationals a title. He’s still a really good pitcher, and he’s got a few really strong years left. But setting both the guaranteed money and AAV records for a pitcher is a huuuge overpay for a guy who will be 38 when that contract ends.
Record money for a guy who has never been “the best pitcher in baseball.”
Who, because of Scherzer, has quite frankly never been the best starter on his own team.
Free agency is officially in full swing.
I totally agree. Strasburg is still a really good pitcher, but he’s not “$35 million a year until he’s 38” good. Not even close.
Maybe he’ll pull a John Smoltz and convert into a closer about 5 years into that deal.
He’d be an incredibly expensive closer.
Dumbest deal I’ve seen in a long time. Yankees, please don’t give Cole $275 million. Move on to other pitchers. Paying 1 pitcher $35+ million per year is absolutely insane. Smh.
Great move, they will contend again next year.
I wanted the Twins to make a run at him but glad they didn’t not sure I like what this means for them with MadBum or Ryu though.
I can’t tell if you’re being serious. You thought the Twins were in on Strasburg?
Was their entire payroll $35M last year?
Considering how large this deal is, I’m gonna guess Cole ends up with 8/288.
I think this pushes him past $300 million
Nat for life. High price tag, but with the Wheeler deal, the market was trending in this direction. Glad we’ll have Strasmas every 5th day for the foreseeable future. Also gives us the ace we’ll need once Max’s contract is up in a couple years.
Yup, because you gave record money to a guy who has never been the best pitcher on his own team, no less, the league.
Hard to be the best pitcher on your team or the league when the best pitcher for most of this decade is your teammate.
Now that Strasburg has his jackpot, he’ll be back to 23 starts per year and multiple IL stints for buttocks cramps, ear infections and the sniffles. Lerner is an absolute moron for giving this guy almost 1/4 of a billion dollars. Smh.
Lerner may be a moron but not because of this deal. Stras has proven he’s worth top dollar for starting pitchers. He’s a top 10 pitcher across all MLB in WAR since 2010 and just finished 3rd in the NL CY, not even including his remarkable postseason resume. There’s a reason many teams were after him. His market would’ve likely risen to similar heights regardless. Cole’s market was already being estimated in the $280m range before this deal. Just because this deal sets a record doesn’t mean it’s a bad deal. Records are made to be broken and salary records should continue to go up with inflation.
As if we need any more fodder for there being a huge distance between the spenders and the non-spenders, the Nationals just committed to one guy what the Pirates will likely commit to their entire team for the next three seasons…
Someones gonna give cole 300 million.
35 million a year.. seriously? Wayyyyyy over done
Don’t worry he will blow his arm out during this contract
That’s over $1,000,000 per start! Even ineffective starts. Even starts missed due to injury. Good work if you can get it.
The kicker is that the Orioles will be paying about half of the total because of the MASN thing.
That’s the closest thing the O’s have done to signing a quality player in a long time. They should get a hat-tip for it.
Good lord,World Series nostalgia going on,a lot of miles on that arm,honestly he has maybe 3 all star years left then what pitchers can hit the wall over night basically…they are going regret this.my guess is cole gets 7 for 37 per year
Strasburg is a stellar pitcher, bit I can’t help but wonder how much of that contract will he spend injured and unable to pitch.
Averages 28 starts a year.
He averages 24 starts a year. Or did you cut out years to make his average look better?
That leaves Cole with either the yanks, dodgers or angels. Plan B just eliminated himself, so plan A needs to work for one of these three. The Yankees dedicated desire to go all in on Cole ($) may cause the Dodgers to reconsider and resign Ryu while the Angels plan B may be MadBum, but wouldn’t be surprised if Cole chooses the Angels over the yanks if the $ is close.
I see Rendon signing with the Rangers, as well.
The Phillies have placed formal bids on Cole and Rendon, dont count them out yet
Cole will go to the Yanks if the dollars are close. He wants to be in the postseason every year, have a crack at the WS. That being said, I hope the Yanks pull out at $275MM. Even $275 is stupid money for a pitcher.
The man is 31 (not 27) why the hell would they pay him 35 million a year for 7 years starting at age 31? That’s gonna be a really bad contract is the next few years. Yeah he’s really good right now, but half way through that contract, they’re gonna be sorry
I’d go so far as to say Jordan Zimmerman bad
This was the first over pay with deferred money. With $80mm deferred still gives them some flexibility upfront. But boy do the nationals have some future bills.
Stras….Cole….Rendon,..Ryu and Keuchel? Xmas bonus at the Boras Corporation (said in a singy kind of duchie voice).
Makes the 5yr 118mil deal to Wheeler and the 1yr 18mil to Cole Hamels look like bargains. No wonder MadBum is looking for 9 figures. Rick Porcello might get 50 or 60 mil at this rate
Wheeler just became a bargain. If his arm stays attached.
Wheeler already had TJS. His peripherals are all trending in the right direction as well. There’s a reason 15 teams were in on him
Cole is worth way over $265 million now !
How much was a world series win worth?
Good for him. Now he can afford to retire in his home town.
Where is Rendon going now?
The Nationals are still working on ways to bring him back but Texas and Philly are apparently in a bidding war. The Dodgers made an offer and will sit back and wait
Rendon heading to the Dodgers !
I’m hearing the Dodgers offer has not exceeded 200mil. Possibly because theyve only offered 4 years?
Boras has his way with Nationals every time. Massive unnecessary overpay.
First thought is so much for the Padres fans who swore he was coming to San Diego.
Second thought is that this certainly looks good for Madison Bumgarner.
Nobody likes you, stop talking
Yeah, that contributed to the discussion.
Grow up.
Scherzer is the only mega contract to actually work out. Nats better hope lightning strikes twice in the same spot.
Huge domino affect may end up hurting position players..now the price for the second tier pitchers jumped,all the overpay on pitchers going mean less for position players
So much for the players union screaming collusion that is ridiculous money to spend on a pitcher you know now Cole will at least look to shatter this by another $28 mil p[us at least.
I think the Yankees would stick to a firm stance on how high they will go I can see the Angels being the team now to break Strasburg’s record. With the Yankees then paying their attention to either Ryu,MadBum or lower tier like Porcello for innings.
It is going to be pretty interesting from here till Xmas with one big name off the board way early you may start to see more deals come down quickly before numbers get way to out of hand.
Boras will break 4 records for pitching contracts this off season. Strasburg now tops Price previous $217 million contract as well as Greinke AAV of $34.4.
He will soon break both of those with Cole’s contract.
Cole is getting 300m or plus for sure. Cole is 2x the pitcher Strasburg is and has never had injuries. Some team is telephoning Boras the Brinks truck is coming with a whole lotta of moola. Cole will be too busy rather Mrs. Cole will be counting the Benjamins very very soon.
Holy bleep! if Strasburg gets this much, how high did Cole’s price just go?
It was probably the most money Strasburg was going to get. Now Cole won’t sign until February
Strasberg averaged 158 innings the last 5 seasons. They have to pay him for his 31-32 all the way through age 37-38. That deal is very, very likely going to end up being a huge albatross. Wonder if they deferred or front-loaded anything? Good for him but away too much risk for me.
Now that Strasburg is gone, signing Cole is imperative. I don’t really care now if the bidding ups to $300 million… sign him
I guess you don’t mind seeing the cost of concessions going up and as well the price of your admission ticket. Wish I was in your income bracket!
Dear Washington nationals;
I would like to take this chance to thank you for signing Strausburg to that seven year $245 million contract. It benefits me more than you could ever possibly imagine.
Sincerely,
Garrett Cole
Guy’s so rich he doesn’t even bother spelling his own name right.
There’s that typical Yankee fan IQ showing again!
so I assume cole gets at least a qurter of a billion dollars…. let me say it again – over a quarter of a billion dollars.
and cole brings in a billion dollars of revenue, so he’s getting ripped off
1) Good for the Strasburg and good for the players.
2) Could be a franchise killer if his abilities slide faster than the years on his contract.
3) Average expense per team win was $800,000 in 2019. Means Strasburg would have to win or contribute in 43 wins in 2020.
4) To go with #3 is why you spend that money on position players like Rendon.
Feeling much better about the Phillies overpaying for Wheeler. The market is pretty crazy right now.
I wonder how much more Gerrit Cole is getting from the Angels?
Yu Darvish looking very good now !
I suspected that rumored Cole offer would kill two birds with one stone:
Stras signs with the Nats for the same amount and Cole will inherently want more
When will NYY learn to stop dealing with Boras?
Don’t even meet with his clients.
Lets say this happens……..Cubs doing terrible in 2020…….playoff teams need pitching……..Yu Darvish is what he was in his second half of 2019, very good…………….I have no doubt teams will ask for Darvish…..take on his contract based on what money is being spent now.
Kyle Hendricks trade worth will be even more with his contract…………
Theo is in a good position now !……….even Jon Lester last year of his contract is looking good…………Theo can nab a top 15 prospect from a team for Lester.
Wow that is insanely high for a guy that has an extensive injury history, is on the wrong side of 30, has declining velocity, and numbers more like a #2 than an ace. Cole must be giddy as a school girl right now.
Nats must think a guy who averages about 160Ip/yr is a real innings eater.
One reason for the size of this contract might be somewhat accredited to Wheeler’s deal. A lot of sentiment with Stras — watching MLB network/reading rumors — was that he could be even better than he has been and teams, due to analytics and technology, are paying for what a player “could” do more than ever before, rather than primarily sitting on what he has done in the past.
Much of Wheeler’s appeal was based on his stuff being better than what the results have been. Take that logic and apply it to Strasburg, and the dollars would be — like they are — very high. Whether that’s a good or bad approach, I’m not sure, I’m just spit ballin’ here.
Heading into the offseason, I thought Strasburg was going to get around 5/150, maybe 6/170. Wow.
Stras has been a top 10 pitcher in all of baseball since he came up in 2010 and finished 3rd in NL CY this past year. If he simply plateaued where he’s at, this contract is worth it.
Wheeler will have the better next 7 seasons.
Cole is smiling. MadBum is smiling. love seeing these guys get paid what they’re worth. Good to see the market actually alive this off-season. Feel good for everyone involved–the Nats, Strasburg. Boras can take a flying leap into his Uncle Scrooge style gold treasury…. Anyhow. Glad to see the hot stove is actually warm this year. Give Madison 6 years/$100 million.
“…what they’re worth”? That’s highly subjective, but it’s actually irrelevant as the contract itself determines that. If Strasburg signed for $100,000/yr under no duress, that would be his “worth”.
They wouldn’t be worth close to that if fans weren’t gullible sheep that paid outrageous prices for tickets and food at the game.
Right? because the corporate ticket holders can’t even give their seats away since nobody wants to throw $200 into tshirts, hotdogs and a few beers.
Stras is the ace now.
This is awesome. Red Sox pulled a card from the yankee deck when they signed Price. Everyone better than him gets more and that is by design. Price contract is still an overpay but it is now delivering dividends. It’s all just a big game.
7/245. Bahahahaha!!! I can’t believe the Yankees lowballed Cole. Damn!!
Will the Nats be paying Strasburg at least $5M per year in 2063 (the Bonilla deal)? Seems like it.
So how much deferred money do the Nats have tied up? Side note Yankees obviously will have to up their offer. 8-10 year at how much?
Gee, look what’s happening? Teams are throwing around money like it’s the old CBA…maybe there is collusion is baseball. “Let’s pay some players, make it look like we’re being fair and generous, and then shove another terrible CBA down their throats with the idiotic leadership they have in place!”
The high end of the market has consistently been paid. No change. It’s the middle market that’s been squeezed.
The players and teams in the mid and low range have gotten equally boned by the league and the union for years…
This for a guy who’s averaged only about 165IP/season and far less than that during the four years prior to 2019. Such insanity is the legacy of Marvin Miller, who represented his clients well.
Still, given the money in baseball thanks to its monopoly status and the billions siphoned away from taxpayers and into the Stadiums for Billionaires corruption program, it’s more a question of ‘Which rich guy do you want to get that next hundred million dollars?’
In Rizzo we trust.
Boras to his wife: “you asked me if i was in the baseball business, or the money business. Neither. im in the empire business”
The stupid money is back in the game.
If Strasburg and Cole come off the table this early there will probably be an active trade market for pitching. Atlanta could be sitting in a good spot with all of those prospects.
38 years old when this contract is over. $80 million in deferred interest accruing money built in the contact! THAT’S crazy!!! CRAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZYYYYYYYY!!!
I just can’t believe the ROI will be worth it. I just don’t believe it at all. He’ll be in his mid to late 30’s for most of this contract…. I just don’t see him producing this high of a lvl for that long.
Good for him though. He was already set for life, now his children, grandkids, and great grandkids are set for life
A “Nolan Ryan” he ain’t!
this shows the true sickness of America. we scream about $15 an hour minimum wage for guys that work 12 hour days carrying hundred pound loads and cheer for a kid getting quarter of a billion dollar to work out. people are literally starving in our country and we’re celebrating because our hot dogs and beer are going to go through the roof again making this games future for the rich by the rich.
@jtvincent “Though there is no change to my patrician facade, I assure you my heart is breaking.”
The sickness isn’t cheering for baseball players (none of us posting here individually has any say in what they’re being paid), its failing to call and heed a national strike in order to boost the minimum wage to $22 an hour (that would keep pace with productivity gains over the last decade), gain majority seats for workers on all Boards of Directors, and end things like credit default swaps in excess of 5x the value of the object being insured.
lol.
that because we celebrate greed. besides if it did not cost 200$ for a ball game we might not need 22
Are you trying to destroy the economy?
“chesteraarthur
14 hours ago
Are you trying to destroy the economy?”
Of course he is. And once it’s in the tank, him and his socialist buddies can take over because “look guys! Capitalism failed!”
And what do they get? Everything. They get EVERYTHING. The better question is to ask him where the system they’re proposing has EVER functioned properly. They get mad and start spewing platitudes about how they’ll “get it right this time.” And how “it’s never been tried” even though it has. Over and over and over.
And it’s always led to Strongman Despots controlling everything, massive corruption at all levels of government and massive black markets and mob activity.
Not to mention folks in China who are bringing back the black plague because they’re eating uncooked rodent. The biggest communist country in the WORLD… has a large contingent of people who can’t even find a way to COOK the RAT MEAT that they eat to survive. Yeah, lets do that.
This is the same argument my mom used to try to get me to eat broccoli.
and its good for you. how about we worry about what teachers make or the fact these guy only pay about half the tac they should. amazing how people kick the working man and love a spoiled brat who plays games. I mean what kind of sick person has an ego so big they think their worth a quater of a billion.
Why dont you go to the microsoft trade rumors site and complain about bill gates? Maybe head on over to amazon trade rumors and voice these feelings to their ceo Jeff.
The person who can be paid that much. Stop being a child.
For everyone that discredits the win category for a starting pitcher, 5 wins in the postseason sure is a big number, no?
Chances are this deal will take him to retirement. Instead of deferrals, they should have just added up the active years and the deferral years and made it all active. If he’s getting the $80M spread over 8 years, for instance, call it a fifteen year deal. That would lower the AAV vis-à-vis the luxury tax.
I think they already do that when deferred money is in the back end.
Nationals should’ve just signed Gerrit Cole if they were going to spend this much anyways… hopefully Strasburg’s arm holds up.
…but Cole is going to cost much more.
Strasburg will decline greatly before even half of this albatross is paid.
Talk about a difference one postseason makes. He went from being a pitcher who has never lived up to the hype to signing the biggest contract ever for a pitcher.
But losing Rendon kind of negates the deal. The Nationals had a nice Cinderella story but I didn’t think they were going to repeat regardless.
So this is more like 7 years $205MM since $80MM is deferred. The Yankees’offer still has more value. I’m thinking 7 or 8 years $245-$280MM is what he’s going to make.
The Yankees haven’t put an offer to Cole out yet, genius.
Well, if you consider the contracts to Yu Darvish, David Price, and say, Chris Davis, Cole’s 300 million looks pretty worth it.
San Diego doesn’t deserve a team. What an imbecile of an owner.
Watch them trade Machado for Strasburg in 2 years tho…..
Am I the only one who thought this was a foregone conclusion before he even opted out?
Yeah, a lot of experts had him going to SD but SD decided their “go for it” move was just to sign machado and hosmer and then do nothing other than making like 50 trades that show no clue how to build a team, smh
Re-signing with the Nats.. not surprising… opting out of 4/100 (When some doubted he would opt out) to collect 7/245 is surprising as hell to me.
Yankee fans said Cole was theirs… I wonder why Strasburg signed so quickly and Cole is still looking at offers?
I’m assuming it’s because the Nats offer was relayed to Strasburg and he replied, “good lord. Accept it before they come to their senses.” Meanwhile, the market for Cole won’t change much over the next few months, and since Strasburg got 7/245m, he’s surely dreaming of 300m+.
So Cole did well to wait, while Strasburg did well to jump. This is going to work out wonderfully well for both of them.
Those of us who have the Washington Generals for Baseball teams officially wave the white flag… Does Japanese Baseball have a streaming package??
Congrats to Scott Boras! I hope the Nationals are happy paying a million bucks every 5 days when Strasburg is 38! To all you Cub fans who think the Cubs will sign Bryant long term, Boras is his agent as well so zero chance of that happening. The vulture Boras will ask for 300M.
Just as you can’t judge a long term contract after one or two years, you also can’t judge it by the end. If you are going to project the low end of the contract lets also talk about the titles and awards earned; the big game performances and yes- the impact on the community
In no walk of life do the employees/workers make anything close to the owner of the company. Billionaires are the job creators and every time someone demands to pay the worker more, creates another union, or raises taxes then those are more jobs that go overseas.
“Job creators.” Hilarious. That koolaid that keeps us from having to think! So refreshing!!
Allowing the rich to thoroughly corrupt our politics and buy the ability to move overseas at the very idea of paying a decent wage, is what’s appalling. It’s long past time for a national strike, to show the rich who actually do the work in this country, and reinstate the top marginal tax rates on the rich from the Eisenhower era, of 91% (a 55% effective rate), while cutting taxes on people who actually work for a living. .
Think of it as “running government like a business,” ie charging what the market will bear for the use of our 37 trillion dollar national infrastructure without which no one gets rich, and no one stays rich.
It’s cute how the rich get to pay the taxes to BUILD the infrastructure, which then becomes the justification for dry-humping every last nickel out of their pockets.
You do understand that it doesn’t become okay to steal from people you don’t like, just because you vote for it, right? Jog on, comrade.
Looks like the Red Sox may get to unload Price and his contract.
Trades prospects for Josh Bell, Adam Frazier, & Kela to fill first base and second base gaps and bullpen help.
You predicted the future and Bell traded to Nats
Now the Red Sox don’t have to carry the weight of paying the highest priced contract ever to David Price a lame excuse for a SP. They just have to carry the weight that he’s lame. LOL
Jeff, $150K for a 3rd place finish, NOT $350K. Clean it up man, you’re better than that lol
We need some sanity with some of these baseball owners. Live auction to the highest bidder. What are we dealing – cattle, pork? This has to stop or I will never again afford a simple general admission ticket to a ballgame. Can’t afford to go to a NFL game when ticket prices start at $80!