Strasburg Signs for Record $15.1 Million

Stephen Strasburg got the record contract that his agent expected, and the Nationals got the pitcher considered to be the finest amateur in the history of the draft.

Strasburg, the No. 1 pick in the June draft, signed a $15.1 million, four-year deal. The previous record was $10.5 million, which the Cubs gave Mark Prior in 2001.

The Nationals reportedly had put a $12.5 million offer on the table more than a week ago, and the offer apparently was increased with some last-minute dealing. The deal was not announced until just after the midnight ET deadline.

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"There was back-and-forth throughout the day," Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo said. "We started early in the morning, the group of us got together at 9 a.m. on Monday, and we've been together throughout the night. It's been a pretty consistent flow of back and forth, and obviously the last couple of hours -- and specifically the last 45 minutes -- the energy level ramps up. And it gets a little exciting."

Strasburg, 21, earned the record deal by dominating during his junior season at San Diego State. A 6-foot-4 right-hander, he was 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA. He had 195 strikeouts in 109 innings. He won the Golden Spikes Award, as the nation's best college player.

If Strasburg had not signed, he would likely have spent next season playing independent baseball or overseas. He would have then gone into next year's draft pool (unless agent Scott Boras figured a way around it) and the Nationals would have received the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft as compensation.

There was much bluster coming from the Boras camp during the pre-draft buildup and immediately after the draft. Boras said that Strasburg deserved to be treated differently than a normal amateur draft pick, suggesting that Strasburg was actually more comparable to Daisuke Matsuzaka, who got more than $50 million to sign with the Red Sox.

In the end, though, Boras took Strasburg to a higher level, but he did not set a new precedent in the way the draft operates. Strasburg got more than anyone else, because he was arguably the best amateur, but he was not paid as if he were an established big-league free agent.

The deal reportedly includes a $7.5 million bonus and $7.6 million in salary over four years, starting immediately. Because Strasburg signed a major-league deal, he immediately goes on the 40-man roster. He also uses up one of his options unless he is added to the big-league 25-man roster. However, players who sign in this way typically qualify for a rare fourth option.

Because Strasburg is already on the 40-man roster and earning the big-league minimum salary, the Nationals could call him up later this season without much financial risk. He would start accruing service time, pushing him closer to arbitration and free agency, but an extra 30 days or so won't make much difference in that respect.

Rizzo said it's too early to discuss whether Strasburg will be in the big leagues this year.

"We have to figure out where he's at, how in shape his arm is, how much we have to ramp him up before he can start pitching competitively."

There were two legitimate schools of thought about this negotiation as it dragged on for two months. The first was that Strasburg and Boras were going to twist the system in whatever way possible to get maximum dollars, even if that meant doing something as radical as going to Japan in an effort to become a free agent.

Then there were folks who figured that would be way too much of a risk for Strasburg. If he got the record-breaking deal the Nationals were likely to offer, he was likely to take it, even if it was simply record-breaking, and not earth-shattering.

Strasburg, after all, was an amateur pitcher. A college kid in a college conference (the Mountain West) that wasn't all that good. Sure, he could throw 102 mph with a ridiculous slider, but at higher levels, hitters may lay off that slider. If he was forced to pitch with just a fastball, he might get hit, even at such velocity.

There is also a chance that he might get hurt. The Nationals saw first-hand how easily a phenom can turn into a question mark when Jordan Zimmerman had to go in for Tommy John surgery that is likely to have him out at least a year.

Nothing was a sure thing for Strasburg and the Nationals, which is why it made sense for the two parties to reach a reasonable compromise.

"The reason he agreed to a deal -- he wants to be in the big leagues, he wants to be a Washington National," Rizzo said. "He wants to win a Cy Young award and he wants to win championships in D.C. That's the reason he signed with us here. Money was a nice perk and a nice byproduct for him, but he's here to pitch. He's chomping at the bit to get on the mound. He's ultra-ultra competitive, and I think he was getting a little tired of sitting around the house."