On Saturday, World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg opted out of his contract with the Washington Nationals. The 31-year-old right-hander will be one of the most sought after arms in in this year's free agency. Consider his hometown team interested.
According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune, the Padres are planning to pursue Strasburg this offseason. Strasburg had $100 million left on his 7-year, $175 million deal with the Nationals, so he's looking for more guaranteed money. The Padres, in addition to offering the Southern California native some familiarity, could write a big check for the second offseason in a row.
Here's more from Acee's report:
Multiple people in the organization indicated over the past few days that the team will be in position to make a run at Stephen Strasburg ... The belief in baseball is the Nationals are the favorites to keep Strasburg — just at a higher price than previously committed. However, San Diego County is where Stephen and Rachel Strasburg's parents both live.
Even before Strasburg's availability became official, Padres officials were quietly talking about ways in which they would up the payroll.
The addition of Strasburg to the Padres rotation would could launch the young squad into playoff contention immediately. Despite a history with injuries, Strasburg put in one of the best seasons in his 10-year MLB career in 2019. He finished the season with an NL-best 18 wins, 3.32 ERA and recorded a career-high 251 strikeouts to just 46 walks. Strasburg also threw 209 innings during the 2019 season, a career-high. He took home the World Series MVP award after finishing the postseason 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA.
After the free-agent signing of Manny Machado ahead of the 2019 season, the Padres appear ready to take the next step. And that's without even mentioning the club's high-quality farm system, which MLB Pipeline ranked best in the league at the start of the 2019 season.
As our own Mike Axisa pointed out at the end of the 2019 season, the Padres, who recently named Jayce Tingler their new manager, are the best positioned team to eventually dethrone the Dodgers. But there's still some work that needs to be done before they get there. Landing Strasburg would be a huge step.
