Stephen Strasburg Retires

[Slateman]

https://twitter.com/barrysvrluga/status/1694776959828369532

BREAKING: Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg will retire. The World Series MVP and former No. 1 pick in the draft, who couldn't overcome complications from thoracic outlet syndrome, is tentatively planning a September announcement. (w
@dougherty_jesse
)

[Natsinpwc]

Hot news. Plans to retire.

[Natsinpwc]

https://twitter.com/barrysvrluga/status/1694776959828369532

Beat me to it. Charlie says new conference on Sept 9.

[nfotiu]

Not that there was much chance of him coming back and being a useful pitcher, but it's still a bit sad to hear it officially.

Hopefully they can work out a settlement to maybe chop the remaining dollars in half?

[DPMOmaha]

Dang. Tip of the cap to Stras. One heckuva career. I'll look forward to his Ring of Honor celebration. He'll be a Nats legend forever.

[imref]

I look forward to seeing his number retired and his induction into the ring of honor next year.

[BigMeech]

Strasburg gave everything he had left to will us to the World Series in 2019.  Nationals and DC Sports legend forever.  I'm 100% gonna try and be there for his ring of honor induction.

[UMDNats]

Thanks for everything Stras. Absolute legend.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

There's a piece up on FG discussing Corbin referring to the him and Stras and the post-2019 descent of the Nats. Mostly about Corbin and the combination of the contract defining him as he takes the ball every day while his skills have deteriorated.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/dont-swallow-the-fip/

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Strasburg gave everything he had left to will us to the World Series in 2019.  Nationals and DC Sports legend forever.  I'm 100% gonna try and be there for his ring of honor induction.

this. I held out hope even this year. I just hope the arm gets to a point where his life is normal.

[NatsLSU]

Strasburg gave everything he had left to will us to the World Series in 2019.  Nationals and DC Sports legend forever.  I'm 100% gonna try and be there for his ring of honor induction.

World Series MVP! He earned his keep for us I'd say! Strasburg will be missed, he had a great yet short lived career.

[Smithian]

Worthy of a #1 pick.

Worthy of an eternal reminder against super contracts.

[Vega]

[bluestreak]

September 9 is a Saturday. Maybe the put him in ring on honor right then.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

September 9 is a Saturday. Maybe the put him in ring on honor right then.

also our meet and greet day. I accumulated a bunch of tickets already for friends.

[catocony]

Hopefully they can work out a settlement to maybe chop the remaining dollars in half?

No chance of this, he'll be paid in full.  It won't affect the annual amounts, but it at least opens up a spot on the 40-man in the off season.  It will also provide closure for everyone, including himself. 

[Vega]

He did what he was drafted to do. Fulfilled the prophecy. Couldn’t ask for any more than that.

[HondoKillebrew]

Agree.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

He did what he was drafted to do. Fulfilled the prophecy. Couldn’t ask for any more than that.

for a non-HoF guy, there will always be a mystique about him, from the draft hype and signing, to the first appearance, to the TJS / recovery / shutdown, to some brilliant playoffs in the 2014, 2016, 2017 range, the injury bug, 2019, the 2019 playoff run, then the mystery injury and comeback attempts. 

[imref]

Final career stats:
- Regular Season: 247 starts, 113-62, 3.24 ERA, 1470 IP, 1723 Ks, 394 BBs, 3.02 FIP
- Postseason: 9 games, 8 starts, 6-2, 1.46 ERA, 55.1 IP, 71Ks, 8 BBs, 0.940 WHIP

Those are hall of fame numbers if he stayed healthy. He without a doubt lived up to the hype.

[nfotiu]

No chance of this, he'll be paid in full.  It won't affect the annual amounts, but it at least opens up a spot on the 40-man in the off season.  It will also provide closure for everyone, including himself. 

If he just retired on his own volition, he wouldn't get any remaining money.   They probably worked out some kind of settlement to defer or reduce what was owed.

[NatsLSU]

https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/1694788121756635197

Stephen Strasburg will continue be paid $35 million annually through 2026 (with about $11.4M deferred each year).
He then will receive $26.6M in 2027, 2028 and 2029 in his owed deferred payments.
The contract was not insured, leaving the #Nats on the hook for its entirety.

Ugh…how is that possible?

[nfotiu]

https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/1694788121756635197Ugh…how is that possible?

Does that mean he's not actually retiring, but just announcing he won't be playing anymore?

[Mattionals]

https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/1694788121756635197Ugh…how is that possible?

That's just Nightingale regurgitating his contract and we already knew it was uninsured. As far as I know, Strasburg could sign a professional services contract for the literal same amount of what is owed, retire and void his player contract, make the same money and not have it count against the luxury tax.

[UMDNats]

The cost to insure that contract would have been so high it wasn't even worth it.