Stephen Strasburg Retires

[Slateman]

I’ll take exception to that. The team can hire their own physicians and can offer a completely different prognosis. It would then go to arbitration shades of the MASN saga for the past years. If a satisfactory resolution is not achieved there could be court cases. The only advantage is Stras ‘ as by that time he will be too old for rigorous activities. If that’s the case I would guess s reduction in the contract amount.

Lol, Stras' doctor is the one who performed the surgery. But yea, the team can hire their own physicians. Stras will contact the union, the union will file a grievance. It will go to arbitration with the Lerners losing.

Stras' doctors will then sue the living crap out of the Nationals for trying to damage their professional credibility.  So now the Lerners will be paying out more.

No, the Lerners have no leverage here.

[Slateman]

No MD is signing their name to a diagnosis that is so obviously wrong, at least not when the patient has the resources Strasburg does

 BTW, Strasburg's doctor is Gregory Pearl, one of the foremost experts in thoracic outlet syndrome. His reputation is pretty much untouchable at this point.

[HalfSmokes]

Lol, Stras' doctor is the one who performed the surgery. But yea, the team can hire their own physicians. Stras will contact the union, the union will file a grievance. It will go to arbitration with the Lerners losing.

Stras' doctors will then sue the living crap out of the Nationals for trying to damage their professional credibility.  So now the Lerners will be paying out more.

No, the Lerners have no leverage here.

All Boras has to do is remind the trainers and the doctors that malpractice is a thing and permanent damage is a risk .

[Five Banners]

One thing I don’t think is going on is Strasburg dogging it so that he could just get the payout without effort

[GburgNatsFan]

Agreed.

One thing I don’t think is going on is Strasburg dogging it so that he could just get the payout without effort

[imref]

Agreed.

Yep. I would have retired the minute they told me I needed a rib removed.

[blue911]

Medical issues are covered by the CBA. And no the team cannot create a hostile work environment just to force a settlement.

[aspenbubba]

Yep. I would have retired the minute they told me I needed a rib removed.

What a sh-t show if Adam would have said that

[GburgNatsFan]

What a sh-t show if Adam would have said that

[IanRubbish]

According to Rizzo it was not a jab, the team is expecting Strasburg to join the club in spring to meet with the young pitchers. It's certainly possible that Rizzo is lying to cover for his boss, but I would not trust anything coming from the Post or the Athletic on this story either.

He absolutely is.  He has the job Stan Kasten used to have of spinning Lerner ineptitude and cheapness in the media.  Whole thing is an embarrassing dysfunctional reveal for the Nats org.

[MorseTheHorse]

Medical issues are covered by the CBA. And no the team cannot create a hostile work environment just to force a settlement.

Is it a hostile work environment to ask a guy paid millions to travel with the team, talk to media, mentor players, etc.?  That's what the Nats are expecting of him at spring training, which is why they said they would see him there.  If he doesn't want to do all that, great, Stras can try to negotiate a medical retirement or whatever. 

[Slateman]

Is it a hostile work environment to ask a guy paid millions to travel with the team, talk to media, mentor players, etc.?  That's what the Nats are expecting of him at spring training, which is why they said they would see him there.  If he doesn't want to do all that, great, Stras can try to negotiate a medical retirement or whatever. 

It is when you know he has a medical condition that wont allow that.

[Natsinpwc]

His contract is to play baseball.  Not sure what the contract requirements are for meeting with the media when injured but some of the other things mentioned seem beyond the scope of the contract.  There is also the issue of whether they asked other guys on long term injured list to do things like mentoring players. I think they can ask any of this stuff. Just not require it. 

Also last year he was not cleared by the doctors for spring training so he apparently did not go. What has changed that they would require him to go this year? They didn’t say in March 2023 that Stephen should go to Florida to mentor players so what would be different in 2024?

[Slateman]

His contract is to play baseball.  Not sure what the contract requirements are for meeting with the media when injured but some of the other things mentioned seem beyond the scope of the contract.  There is also the issue of whether they asked other guys on long term injured list to do things like mentoring players. I think they can ask any of this stuff. Just not require it. 

Also last year he was not cleared by the doctors for spring training so he apparently did not go. What has changed that they would require him to go this year? They didn’t say in March 2023 that Stephen should go to Florida to mentor players so what would be different in 2024?

Eh, MLB contracts probably utilize vague language like rendering baseball services, as well as specific language about promotions. Its why all those players pose for pictures that get used on the scoreboard and team promotional materials.

If he medically retires, he geta all his money.  Im betting the Lerners are trying to get him to agree to either defer more of the contract or give some of it back, and using the "retirement announcement" as leverage. Or what they percieve as leverage.

I hope they try to push this. Mark and Co arent like his father. They never had to grind or actually make good business decisions. Strasburg and Boras can hire good lawyers too. They will crush the Lerners. It will also damage the value of the brand, forcing the other Lerners to accept Leonsis' bid

[Natsinpwc]

Agree. But doubtful it’s legal to get him to take less money. MLB has already said that. Could he stretch out the deferrals?  I don’t know. If they had the contract insured they would have declared him medically unable to play

[Elvir Ovcina]

Agree. But doubtful it’s legal to get him to take less money. MLB has already said that. Could he stretch out the deferrals?  I don’t know. If they had the contract insured they would have declared him medically unable to play

It's perfectly LEGAL to renegotiate into a lower contract.  Out in the real world, and even in other pro sports, that happens (most notably the NFL).  The difficulty here is the MLB's union agreement.  It's a solvable problem if the team, player, union, and league all want to solve it.  That doesn't seem to be the case.

[Natsinpwc]

It's perfectly LEGAL to renegotiate into a lower contract.  Out in the real world, and even in other pro sports, that happens (most notably the NFL).  The difficulty here is the MLB's union agreement.  It's a solvable problem if the team, player, union, and league all want to solve it.  That doesn't seem to be the case.

Right. No reason for the Union to agree and set a precedent.  I assume the Union position is you can’t do it under the CBT. I think they would in effect be renegotiating.

[IanRubbish]

Stras already opted out and zero percent chance Boras will agree to $1 less than the contract.  The only way out would be to file a grievance like the Yankees did with Jacoby Ellsbury, but even that was over a remaining balance of $26 million, not $105 million.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

If the team wants to stretch the payments, then they are going to have to add money so the net present value is the same as the current payment stream. With the high interest environment, that's going to be more than it has been recently

[blue911]

If the team wants to stretch the payments, then they are going to have to add money so the net present value is the same as the current payment stream. With the high interest environment, that's going to be more than it has been recently

The reason why Alex Rodriguez didn’t become a Red Sox.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

The reason why Alex Rodriguez didn’t become a Red Sox.

yes. The union would not let him sign a restructured contract to take less money. Also why Magglio Ordonez never played for the Red Sox and Jon Lester, Orlando Cabrera, and Doug Mientkeiwicz (sp?) did. 

I had forgotten that Brandon McCarthy was also in the deal to backfill for Lester.

https://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/34201/30-for-30-shorts-how-sox-lost-a-rod

[imref]

TalkNats:

Scott Boras just spoke at the GM Meetings in Arizona, and here is what he had to say about Stephen Strasburg:

"We are under contract [with the Nationals]. They approached us earlier [about] him, and so that's all we know now."

"The medical doctors and the team are fully aware that his nerve injury has registered him with an inability to throw at the Major League level."

What Boras didn't address is the current status of those talks with the Nationals, and whether doctors are convinced that Strasburg can never pitch again.