Reports from August 24 indicate that Stephen Strasburg intended to retire from MLB due to what’s being described as a “severe” medical issue. But the Washington Nationals still have the former No. 1 overall pick under contract through the 2026 season after inking the hard-throwing righthanded pitcher to a seven-year, $245 million extension.
Even though he hadn’t pitched since June 9, 2022, the original idea for Strasburg to retire came from the Nationals organization. But the expectation was that the Nationals would then be paying Strasburg the remainder of his contract, which still has $105 million left on the deal.
Only now, a report from The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli indicates the Nationals have since changed their minds. Strasburg was set to have his retirement press conference on Saturday, where the team would also retire the No. 37, but that has since been canceled.
According to Ghiroli, the team now wants to change the terms of their original agreement with Strasburg, and they’re doing so at the very last minute, with just over 48 hours to go before the first pitch takes place on Saturday.
Strasburg played his entire 13-year career with the Nationals, making three All-Star appearances and helping them win the World Series in 2019 as the series MVP. But his elbow injury during the World Series run has left him trying to return to form ever since. Strasburg hasn’t pitched more than 21.2 innings in any of the past four seasons, which has led to talks of retirement instead.
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