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Say hey, baseball: Stephen Strasburg could be traded, maybe!
Tuesday morning’s baseball checks in on Stephen Strasburg, the James Shields market, and what to do now that Max Scherzer is signed.
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Max Scherzer is the Nationals’ ace now, and will pitch for them for the next seven years. While initially it was believed that would open them up to trading Jordan Zimmermann or Doug Fister -- both of whom are free agents at the end of the 2015 season -- that apparently is not Washington’s goal. The Nats want to go all-in right now with a rotation where lefty Gio Gonzalez, someone who would be one of the better pitchers on almost any team in the league, is their fifth starter. So long as rumors of their openness to trading Stephen Strasburg are true, anyway.
Strasburg will only be 26 in 2015, and has two years of service time left before he’s a free agent. He hasn’t developed into the unstoppable force of nature many hoped he would be, but focusing on that only hides how good he has been: Strasburg has a 124 ERA+ over the last three years -- right in line with David Price, Anibal Sanchez, Zack Greinke, Adam Wainwright, Yu Darvish, Cliff Lee and more -- and surpassed 200 innings for the first time in 2014. He’ll be relatively inexpensive for what he’ll produce, considering he’s signed for just $7.4 million in 2015 and will only see so large of a raise in his final year of arb in 2016. He’ll hit free agency two years younger than Scherzer and Jon Lester did, and David Price will. There’s a lot to love here!
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That might be exactly why the Nationals are open to dealing him. Maybe they know they can’t afford another Scott Boras mega contract. Maybe they realize that Strasburg’s low cost and extra year of control will net them far more in a trade than Zimmermann or Fister would, and that between Scherzer, Gonzalez, Tanner Roark, and pitching prospects Lucas Giolito and A.J. Cole they’ll have a strong rotation core over the next few years even sans Strasburg.
It could also be nothing. Being open to trading Strasburg doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, as the Nationals could be fine with the idea so long as they are getting an entire farm system in return. Mike Rizzo is a shrewd general manager, possibly the best at trading in the entire business, and it would be fascinating to see what he would pull in for a piece as valuable as Strasburg. Alas, we’ll probably all just have to dream about it, just like the other 29 teams will.
- The important thing at the moment is that the Nationals are a better team with Max Scherzer, but a perfect rotation doesn’t guarantee postseason success. Such is baseball.
- The Rangers traded three prospects to the Brewers for Yovani Gallardo. They might have been spare-ish parts for the prospect-rich Rangers, but it’s a good return for the Brewers just the same.
- The Nationals might not want to trade Zimmermann or Fister, but the Red Sox would be smart to at least ask about it, as would the Yankees.
- The Tigers still have Justin Verlander, David Price and Anibal Sanchez, but after losing Max Scherzer and trading Rick Porcello, maybe signing James Shields makes sense for Detroit.
- Not only is Scherzer gone, but the White Sox and Indians are better and the Royals are the defending AL champs. Have the Tigers lost their typical AL Central edge?
- The Blue Jays have the money to sign James Shields, but the rotation isn’t the only spot in need of help. Where should the Jays be using their remaining cash? The answer should be pro-Shields, since that rotation has both too much and not enough age in it, and that’s a real risk.
- The Dexter Fowler trade is a familiar one for Astros fans, as the result mostly seems to be about gaining years of control.
- The Padres are considered the favorites for Cole Hamels at the moment, if for no other reason than they’re more likely to give up the prospects the Phillies want than the Red Sox are. The Rangers are probably out now that Yovani Gallardo is theirs, so the list has dwindled once more.
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