The Nationals are back in Houston this week for the first time since winning Game 7 of the 2019 World Series, and on Wednesday, MASN’s Bobby Blanco joined Kevin Sheehan to remember that epic run and look ahead to the Nats’ bright future.
But, it looks like that future is going to happen without Stephen Strasburg, who is once again shut down due to severe nerve damage and looks like he may never pitch again, his seven-year deal yielding just 31 1/3 MLB innings since 2020 so far.
Blanco says never say never, but indeed, it looks like 2019 will go down as Strasburg’s magnum opus as well as the beginning of his end.
“It’s looking that way; never say never, but the thing that harps to me is that in talking about this, the Nationals and the sources Jesse Dougherty quoted in his article are that it’s less about baseball and more about everyday life,” Blanco said. “Being a person is more at risk – he’s having trouble just being comfortable lying down or playing with his kids, baseball should be the furthest thing from his mind.”
If that’s the case, it would stand to reason that in a “regular” job, Strasburg would just retire due to disability…but it seems he still has about 125 million reasons not to.
“This was the fear when we found out he wasn’t at spring training, and had to be shut down immediately when he tried to throw this offseason,” Blanco said. “Maybe the holdup is his contract; he has so much money left coming to him through 2026 that he’s not going to just give it up, so they have to figure out a way, because they don’t want to pay him $35 million a year to do nothing. There has to be some kind of agreement between the team, Strasburg, and Scott Boras.”
Kevin Sheehan hopes Strasburg is never defined by that contract, because it was “one of the most clutch performances in the history of this city” in Game 6 of the 2019 World Series that finished off him earning it – but with those 31 1/3 innings in three-plus years, it’s hard not to see his legacy as cashing in and checking out.
“I think if you followed his career closely enough, you can put aside the contract and say he had a great career, and was one of the most clutch pitchers of all-time,” Blanco said. “He had so many clutch performances in 2019 alone. There’s just this cloud that casual fans have around him, because it seems like he’s always hurt, but between 2012 and 2019, he made 23 or more starts every year – he was pretty durable and earned that contract, and he was one of the best pitchers in the league at the end of 2019.”
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That led to conversation that Strasburg should start over Max Scherzer in the Wild Card Game, a notion Sheehan agreed with, but it luckily all worked out (and Strasburg got the win in that game in relief anyway).
“He has to go down as one of the most clutch athletes in this city, and all pitchers deal with injuries – look at Scherzer now with the Mets,” Blanco said. “If it does end this way, it’s unfortunate and really sad, but I think Stephen deserves to be held in high regard, and should have that No. 37 hung up in Nationals Park.”
That may happen, but it seems unlikely Strasburg will end up in Cooperstown...perhaps because of one award he DOESN'T have.
"I would think so, because the one thing is doesn't have is any hardware specifically related to starting pitchers," Blanco said. "He did have Top 10 finishes, and he did get MVP votes and was a three-time All-Star...so with the ring, the World Series MVP, and all that, I think one Cy Young is all he'd need to have a legit argument."
Listen to Sheehan and Blanco’s entire convo about Strasburg, Houston, and the Nats’ future (including the No. 2 pick in next month's draft) above!
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