Former Washington Nationals Pitching Phenom Had Memorable Free-Agent Walk Season
It has been a little while since the Washington Nationals were on top of the baseball world. They won the World Series in 2019 and since that point have yet to even make the postseason again.
The future is bright for the Nationals, as they have some excellent young hitters in their lineup. Outfielders Dylan Crews, James Wood and Jacob Young, shortstop CJ Abrams, second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. and third baseman Jose Tena look like a strong core to build around.
All that is missing from this squad is some arms in the rotation. MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and Dylan Herz could make up a solid group moving forward, but they are missing that ace to anchor the staff.
Back in 2019, that didn’t look like it would be an issue for years to come. Washington was loaded with starting pitching, headlined by phenom Stephen Strasburg.
Strasburg was the ace on a staff with excellent depth of Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez behind him. But, it was the former No. 1 overall pick who was truly dazzling.
His performance was so dominant, that he has been recognized by Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report as one of the best pre-free agency seasons in recent history.
“Injuries prevented Stephen Strasburg from putting together a Hall of Fame career, but the former No. 1 overall pick had the finest campaign of his career for the Nationals in 2019, which essentially ended up being it for the righty,” Kelly wrote.
Strasburg led baseball with 18 victories and 209 innings pitched. He recorded an ERA of 3.32, striking out 251 en route to a fifth-place finish in the Cy Young Award voting a 15th place in the MVP race.
In the postseason, he was lights out. Over 36.1 innings, he went 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA, helping Washington bring home the World Series against the Houston Astros. That was pretty much the last time we saw that level of dominance.
“Strasburg then opted out of the four seasons and $100 million left on his prior contract, before the Nationals re-sign him to a new seven-year, $245 million deal, which included $80 million in deferrals from 2027-2029.
Unfortunately, the oft-injured righty made only eight starts after winning World Series MVP before injuries forced him to retire,” wrote Kelly.
While things didn’t pan out with that contract, it was one that Strasburg earned. He put it all on the line for the franchise and won the ultimate prize by becoming a champion.
Had those injury issues not persisted, he could still be anchoring the Nationals’ staff today.
KENNETH TEAPE