Stephen Strasburg Opt-Out in Offseason Reportedly Growing Likelier
By Adam Weinrib
With 2020's free agent class looking a little pitching-deficient, it's possible that one big league star, previously thought to be locked up, could join the fray.
Stephen Strasburg, currently in the midst of a contract that'll take him through 2023, can instead trigger an opt-out, which many anticipate becoming a reality.
Stephen Strasburg can opt-out of his #Nats contract after this season. While a source says he’s yet to make a decision, many in the industry expect him to become a free agent — or negotiate an extension with the Nats. Story: https://t.co/FyG57FKidB @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) September 5, 2019
Stephen Strasburg Contract Details
As it stands now, Strasburg is on a seven-year, $175 million contract, signed midway through the 2016 season, but seen as a leverage play even back then, with this post-2019 opt-out intended to be triggered. Strasburg, now 31 years old, will make $25 million next season, followed by two successive campaigns at $15 million, and then a poison pill $45 million at age 34.
Though Strasburg's durability has often been questioned (and his legacy clouded by a bizarre playoff shutdown at the height of his powers), he's delivered numerous ace-like campaigns, striking out 215 in 179 innings of 3.47-ERA ball this season.
With the pitching market thin behind Gerrit Cole and an aging Madison Bumgarner, Strasburg could weave his way out of a crowded Nationals rotation this offseason and cash in elsewhere, as Scott Boras always likely intended.