Back in mid-February it was reported that the Washington Nationals and starter Stephen Strasburg were "highly unlikely" to have contract extension discussions. However, general manager Mike Rizzo appears to have shifted the paradigm.
Strasburg, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, has been at the MLB level with the Nationals for six seasons. Rizzo believes that will play a role in the long-term relationship between the two sides.
"We've got a great rapport with him," the GM told James Wagner of the Washington Post. "He loves the fan base. He likes being here. We're going to have discussions."
Strasburg's agent, Scott Boras, told FOX Sports earlier in the offseason that the Nats were not talking about an extension for the right-hander and that was "unlikely to change" before the 2016 season ends. However, Rizzo said yesterday that Strasburg is a "guy we'd like to have long-term."
Assuming Strasburg has a good campaign this upcoming season, he'll be in line for a lucrative deal, especially since Boras will be selling him as the best pitcher available among a weak 2017 free agent class. Additionally, the 27-year-old is 54-37 with a 3.09 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 901 strikeouts in 132 career starts.
The fact that the two sides have yet to have contract extension talks makes sense because rarely does Boras have his clients sign such deals before they reach free agency. He prefers to maximize their value on the open market, which makes perfect sense with the way baseball players get paid nowadays. So when Boras said the Nats weren't talking about an extension, it's likely because they know how Boras conducts business considering they've signed a number of his players in the past.
With that being said, it's unknown how interested other MLB clubs would be in paying Strasburg a lot of money since he's now about five years removed from Tommy John surgery, has made 30 or more starts in a season just twice this far into his career, and has pitched more than 183 innings just once (215 IP in 2014).
Nonetheless, Strasburg will be entering a free agent class that consists of Andrew Cashner, Brett Anderson, R.A. Dickey, C.J. Wilson and others, so the demand for a young successful starter will be high.
Stras fits the bill, so it'll be interesting to how the market unfolds for his services. He'll earn $10.4 million in 2016 before becoming a free agent for the first time in his career.
