Washington Nationals Still Hurt by World Series Star’s Record-Setting Contract
It wasn’t very long ago that the Washington Nationals had one of the most talented pitching staffs in baseball.
During their run to the World Series in 2019, the team had Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg anchoring the starting rotation as the aces with Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez offering excellent support as the No. 3 and No. 4 starters.
Their trio atop the rotation all recorded WAR’s of at least 5.0 in the regular season and provided stellar production in the postseason.
They went all-out to help the franchise win a championship, but only Scherzer was able to remain near that level of dominance following 2019. But, he was with the team for only 1.5 more seasons until being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Corbin’s production fell off a cliff, as he became one of the most hittable pitchers in the MLB. He suffered the most losses in baseball from 2021-2024 while giving up the most hits and being charged with the most earned runs as well.
But, at least he was able to get on the mound and eat up innings for his team. He has made at least 31 starts in seven consecutive 162-game campaigns and was the consummate professional through the end of his deal with the Nationals.
That good health evaded Strasburg, who didn’t even pitch 31 innings after the 2019 World Series.
His lights out performance led to Washington signing him to one of the biggest contracts in baseball history; a seven-year, $245 million pact. It turned out to be a reward for all he did previously to the ink drying on that contract, as he made only eight more appearances before retiring.
Because of that, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report gave the contract an “F” grade as Strasburg recorded a total WAR of -0.5 after agreeing to the record-setting deal.
“The Nationals rewarded him with a huge new contract in free agency, but injuries limited him to just eight total appearances in the next four years before he officially retired in April 2024. He will still receive the full value of his contract," he wrote.
Despite retiring, the former ace is currently by far the highest-paid player on the team, set to earn $23,571,429 in 2025. The highest-paid active player is Nathaniel Lowe, who was acquired from the Texas Rangers in a trade and is likely to make more than $10 million in his second year of arbitration.
