Aug. 22: To make room for Wil Crowe as the 29th man in today’s doubleheader, the Nationals moved Strasburg to the 60-day injured list, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. It’s a big blow for the defending champs who will be without their World Series MVP for the rest of the 2020 season. Strasburg will undergo surgery next week, per MASN.com’s Mark Zuckerman (via Twitter).
Aug. 21: After meeting with a nerve specialist, the initial diagnosis of carpal tunnel has been confirmed, Martinez tells reporters (Twitter link via Dybas). Strasburg and the team are weighing their options, one of which is surgery.
Aug. 15: The Nationals will place Stephen Strasburg on the injured list, per MLB Insider Jon Heyman. Strasburg’s still dealing with nerve irritation, according to manager Dave Martinez (via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The diagnosis appears to be carpal tunnel neuritis of the right hand, per Todd Dybas of NBCSW.
Strasburg’s early season injury issues continued Friday in a start against the Orioles. Strasburg departed in the first inning, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com was among those to report. The Nationals replaced him with righty Erick Fedde.
Strasburg made his 2020 debut last Sunday and yielded five earned runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the Orioles. The O’s Anthony Santander smacked a home run off Strasburg on Friday before he had to leave his rematch against the club. Before losing his command in the 4th, however, Strasburg looked like his old self, pulling the chain on changeups and placing his fastball around the edges of the zone.
This has no doubt been an alarming way to open the season for Strasburg, whom the Nationals re-signed to a seven-year, $245MM contract in free agency last winter. Strasburg earned that mega-deal on the heels of a brilliant season that he finished as the World Series MVP for the Nationals, who won their first-ever championship. Like Strasburg, though, Washington has begun the season in less-than-ideal fashion, as it entered Friday with a 6-10 record.
With Strasburg out, Fedde is likely to move back into the rotation. The 27-year-old right-hander has been in and out of the rotation for the better part of the past two seasons. He was in contention for a rotation spot at the start of the season, but that spot went to Austin Voth. The Nationals rotation has been in flux for the entirety of the season, starting with a hamstring issue that bothered Max Scherzer. Anibal Sanchez, another mainstay from last year’s team, has struggled out the gate.
Ryne Harper will return to the Nats to fill Strasburg’s roster spot, per Dybas. Harper’s been used quite a bit this season, but he’s been shelled of late. In total, the 31-year-old former Twin owns a 8.10 ERA/6.13 FIP, though a 10.8 K/9 gives at least a little hope that Harper can become a reliable source of outs for the NAts.
I really don’t want to hear how the Nationals made the wrong choice in signing Strasburg instead of Rendon. When Rendon wasn’t re-signing. What where they supposed to do sign Gerrit Cole instead of Stephen Strasburg? smh
Then don’t listen. It’s not about resigning the wrong player it’s more about the $$. Who were they bidding against? Themselves? Smh
Considering the order of signing went Strasburg, Cole, Rendon you are wrong. And as the person said above who were the bidding against? No one else was handing glass Strasburg 245 million.
After the way he pitched last year, I can see how he got the $$, I mean the injury concerns were obviously there…Rendon hasn’t been great so far either…but to be fair I can’t imagine any of those 3 players will still be All Star quality by the end of their contracts
We’re twenty games into the season without a proper spring training. I think it’s way too early to say anything definitively about those two players, no?
To be fair, although the total is all “real money” there’s tons of deferrals in there which do lower the actual present day value by a lot.
Once you compare that to the present day value of what other SP FA signed for… it doesn’t look quite as bad.
I feel the Nationals definitely did the right think by paying Strasburg for the loyalty he had by staying with them when he could of signed with his hometown Dodgers or Padres. The Nats proved to be a lst class organization by keeping Strasburg.
$35 million per year is what you pay to one of the top pitchers in the game, a guy who gives you a sub 3.00 ERA. A 7 year contract is what you give to a pitcher who hasn’t started to lose velocity yet. Stephen Strasburg is neither. He is currently a mid 3.00 ERA, plus but not great (if you are lucky) pitcher who is on the downslope of his career after 10 years. He will be lucky to be average halfway through his current contract.
Strasburg does have a career 3.19 ERA you know. That’s better than Gerrit Cole. For that matter it’s very close to Greg Maddux’s career ERA (obviously including some older years, but whatever).
He’s not a mid 3 ERA pitcher. He has very valid injury concerns, but his performance has never been the issue
I would bet Strasburg era would be a lot higher if he was developed by the pirates and pitching for ground ball contact instead of strike outs. To me their are 2 Cole’s, pirates Cole and Astro Cole.
Lovinmlb — So The Nats “developed” Strasburg as a strikeout pitcher and discouraged him from pitching to contact…what in the world are you talking about?
Judging by your usual posts I wouldn’t think you would understand.
Can’t support ridiculous statements with any facts. Thought so.
They were right to let Rendon walk, and they should have let Strasburg go too for that kind of money. Said it last winter. Day it now.
Say*
beyouo2215- were the Yankees wrong for giving Cole $324 million for 9 years? What about that kind of money? smh. The Nationals owed it to Strasburg to re-sign him. They have the perfect 1-2-3- punch with Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin. They won a championship with those 3 last season so it was worth it then. So why not now? Because he got hurt? That makes no sense, it’s not his fault. The Nats were criticized for signing Corbin for so much $ and letting Harper walk last season. Look how that worked out. They got a ring out of it. So it was definitely worth it.
Cole doesn’t have the extensive injury history Strasburg has. Analogy doesn’t work.
They were all wrong for handing out that many years for that many dollars. These contracts never pan out, and I mean never with the way the current arbitration process works teams usually pay the least amount for the best years of a players career and who ever signs them to the mega contract is paying for post prime years. Great example Albert Pujols. It works out in a situation like the Angela had with Mike Trout and like the Red Sox almost had with Betts. Sign them pre 27 to the mega deal. All three of the mega contracts Boras negotiated last winter will eventually come to haunt those teams.
Great example: Max Scherzer. Oh, sorry. That doesn’t fit your narrative.
Great example with max, name more keep going. Aroid, Verlander, Grienke, Bonds. No roids I got 3 pitchers. You want a pitcher with good mechanics that knows how to pitch and you got a shot. Cole has a shot. Most of these contracts failed from day 1. Why would anyone think giving a 30 something year old hundreds of millions was a good idea. I think now teams realize this and it won’t happen again. They will at least give these stupid contracts to 27 28 year olds so they can have some elite years at least. Get a fair price or bargain for 5 years, then over pay by double the last 3 or 4 years.
You have no idea what the term ‘leverage’ means if you believe that marquee stars are going to stop getting megadeals from their choice of 31 teams — all it takes is ONE team to make an exorbitant offer, and in most cases it’s more than one.
31?
New expansion team at Baskin Robbins
Actually I should have said 29, based on how The Nats are playing now.
so now they have a solid but unspectacular lineup and a more talented SP group that has a key part of it that is brittle. look, any way you slice it, Stras was lucky health-wise last year. this is just a justification of that.
Didn’t Mike Rizzo already say they were a “pitching first” organization? Or in something in the line of those terms. So my guess is their gonna let Soto walk as well when it’s his time.
Rendon isn’t going to age well, Cole will eventually hit a wall. Strasburg won’t be perfect either but I think it was the best choice they had.
You may not want to hear it but over his 11 year career, Strasburg has made all his starts twice. Rendon has proven to be much more durable over his 8 year career. In an effort to educate yourself, compare and contrast both careers. It’s not remotely insane to question this decision by the Nats.
Nothing for me to question. I take a great pitcher over a replaceable position player any day.
It was a dumb contract from day 1. He was coming off a career high in innings by a lot, and has proven that maintaining health is a Huge issue and will always be with him. The massive amount of innings “for him” last yr made him even more at risk for injuries too.
Any huge contract is dumb. Sales was dumber, then Strasburg, then Cole. Cole is under 30 and has good build and mechanics but so long and so much $ always has risk.
Ellsbery stupid, over 30 game dependent on speed, one of the dumbest contracts ever. At least rendon mookie are younger and power hitters. You can probably count on 1 hand or maybe 2 the contracts that worked out. Take away steroids and it is probably 1 hand for sure. Harper is only recent mega contract I loved just because of the situation. If he went to NY LA I would of hated it.
Not exactly surprising. He’s only had 3 seasons of 30+ starts; 4 seasons of over 160 IP.
Yes, true that. A very overrated pitcher at this point. As he ages his well documented injury history only gets worse. A questionable signing from the beginning becomes moreso with each IL stint. The guy is fragile.
If he started the season dominating then everyone would’ve said Washington made the right decision in signing him.
@dennis63480- regardless of what it is being said by the fans or haters, it was definitely worth it for the Nationals to resign him. They won a championship with him there. So how or why was it not worth it? smh
because you dont give players contracts for what they did in the past. that’s rule #1 of signing free agents.
Yet many teams violate this rule.
and it usually bites them
@DarkSide830- I can’t tell you how much I disagree with you. If a pitcher helps you win a championship your going to do what ever you can do re-sign him. Why wouldn’t you? He was great in the playoffs when it really matters. Nobody could of predicted Stras getting hurt like this. It’s unfortunate for him and the Nats.
Sure you could predict it. IHe’s hurt every other year, and he ain’t getting younger.
While that is somewhat true. What do you base your offer on? It’s largely based on previous performance. How else would you arrive at a dollar amount.?
How did the Yankees arrive what they offered Cole?
The Angels with Rendon? and so on,
It’s past performance. Age. Position that he plays.
There’s alot of variables that go into a offer of a big name FA..
But the biggest one is past performance.
Strasburg is hurt all the time. This injury was as predictable as cold weather in Alaska
You forgot “demand”.
That’s idiotic. You don’t overpay a guy because of a what he did in the past. That’s how organizations get blown up and sent to rebuild mode fast.
bush1- So you don’t pay a guy that gets you to a World Series and helps you win the World Series? Gotcha, that makes a lot of sense. ugh smh
I agree with bush1. Are you s fan of this with your own team? Me I am letting Rizzo and Bryant go unless they are cheaper then we think they will be. Baez as well. Lesser players as well. Total rebuild from trade and comp prospects.
nope. we would have said he was still an injury waiting to happen because…well he is.
So here’s the solution: instead of focusing on winning championships and signing 30-something vets like The Nats and other clubs do, just dont sign guys like Rendon, Strasburg, or Cole. All of their new big $$$ deals extend into their late 30’s. They’re all gonna break down and/or cease performing at high levels. So play the accountant card: be wimpy, and sign the deals that “make sense”, and dont make deals that will get you to October. You can be like The Orioles and all of the clubs with meager payrolls every year. Who dont consistently compete, have empty stands., and are playing golf in October.
Natsman that’s how I am. And it can work, just not often. It worked for your nats. Although that was the luckiest team. They didn’t over pay for Harper and won it all. Max had the build and mechanics to stay productive. Corbin wasn’t a huge mega deal risky sign. They let rendon walk. Should of let Strasburg walk. Trashtros used same formula, turns out it is tainted. But it can be done. You are right though, the odds aren’t good. Most teams that win it all are huge payroll teams with some stupid contracts on the roster. I love how Indians, Braves, Twins, A’s and Ray’s run things but what have they won?
The Nats did not overpay Harper and instead used that money to OVERPAY Corbin, because guys like you were wetting the bed that his deal was too long. Max had “the build and mechanics to stay productive” — ? — again, everyone screamed that The Nats overpaid for him. and went too many years on his deal. Playing the hindsight-20/20 card is so much fun.
No. People would say givong him that deal was a mistake, and it was.
Wrong.
How about now?
Now? Yep, you’re still wrong.
Not me Dennis. I hate all these mega deals. Only 2 I like was Harper ( situation only, not because of future baseball production.) And Trout because they had to, how do you let that guy leave and explain it to angels fans? Everything else I hate. Boston losing mookie is great for Boston. La signing him not so great for LA. I would of let Yelich play out that team friendly contract. I like building from prospects and signing them to team friendly deals. I would of called Strasburgs bluff and let him walk or got him cheaper. Would of went for Wheeler. Even right now there are some decent pitchers available via trade. Nats should of had press conference, told fans how much they love Wheeler and the following week the Soto extension.
Soto is a Scott Boras client. And Boras in particular – among MANY other agents – is not going to betray his nature by having young star clients like Juan Soto not test the market to sign a team friendly extension. And the time that he did for Washington (Strasburg in 2016), his client reportedly approached him and asked that a deal get done. But the small market PriceWaterhouseCoopers approach to roster building is kinda cute.
Just another in the long string of pitcher injuries in 2020. Pitcbers are landing on the injured list two to three times more frequently than in past years. Surprised MLBTRADERUMORS hasn’t done a piece on this.
Offseason is over, lay off the fortnite.
For those just tuning in, welcome to the Comments section of MLBTR., which is also referred to as the Comedy Channel. Here’s a few of the drive-by gems we have so far on Strasburg::
* Aside from the Yankees & Dodgers – who were supposedly just kicking the tires and not interested – all other baseball teams were so disgusted with Strasburg that none would have DROPPED EVERYTHING to grab him.. So The Lerners threw him a QUARTER OF A BILLION dollar contract despite the fact that they were “bidding against themselves”. Classic.
* Owners of sports franchises do not offer contracts based primarily on future value. No. Really.
* Since 2014, Strasburg has appeared in 86% of scheduled games. And after Strasburg’s runaway, dominant, MVP performance in the World Series. he is on the downslope of his career.
* The Nationals, who have had the Top 6 payroll in MLB in recent years, should have let both Stras and Rendon walk.
* The Nats hate position players, so they will let Juan Soto walk.
In addition to Strasburg’s contract, when the Nats signed Scherzer and Corbin to their huge contracts, the Drive Bys PEED DOWN THEIR LEGS that The Nats were crazy. Contracts are always a gamble. Rizzo has a track record of doing his homework & making smart deals. Cole’s human. He is getting crazy money thru his LATE 30’s, he is going to break down long before that deal ends. But so what. If the Yankees get a ring, no one cares about that. And good for them if they do.
*
Shhh… you’re ruining their narratives. Sound logic, facts, and reasoning have no place here which is reserved for knee-jerk reactions and fairweathers.
You may not want to hear it but over his 11 year career, Strasburg has made all his starts twice. Rendon has proven to be much more durable over his 8 year career. In an effort to educate yourself, compare and contrast both careers. It’s not remotely insane to question this decision by the Nats.
You may not want to hear any of this either — (1) Rendon wasnt crazy about DC and wanted to raise his family closer to the Left Coast, (2) Washington did what it does with big dollar free agents: offered Boras and Rendon a heavily back ended, deferred deal — a No Go for Boras/Rendon. (3) The Angels offered Rendon $35M per year, NON-deferred. They admitted they want to make a big splash in The Fall — c’mon, they weren’t gonna just watch Washington outbid them. The price tag would go Up Up Up.
You win rings in baseball with great pitchers who shut down offenses in the playoffs, And you take chances on studs like Strasburg, not Tanner Roark. You want to congratulate yourself by not taking chances and playing it safe with the money, than teams like the Orioles and Royals can keep you plenty company.
lol.
lmao.
We’re blessed to have you educate everyone on your Drive By-like wisdom. And to think this site does not charge folks to read your creeds.
Angels owner Arte Moreno has had his sights set on Rendon since his college days. The coach of his college team( I believe he played at Rice) invited Arte to come check him out. Since that time Arte kept tabs on him and should he have the chance to sign him as a free agent he would try. So fast forward to the winter of 2019. When became apparent that Garret Cole was going to sign with The Yankees after the Angels made him their best offer,Arte pulled aside Scott Boras and let it be known that he wanted to sign Rendon.
HankHonk4Life- we’re you actually there when Arte pulled aside Scott Boras and let it be known that he wanted to sign Rendon?
I am Arte’s grandson and I will personally vouch that this did happen and yes indeed Honk was present when it went down. We keep Honk around for all the key happenings.
The signing wasn’t the issue. He was very durable last year, but with his hand issue being a known thing, why would they pitch him last night? Let’s be honest- this season is an utter joke. If you just signed a 32 year old to a mega deal and he’s having hand issues in a half season, why push him? They need to shut him down until he’s back and ready to go. It’s that simple. If they don’t, the contract is an albatross and they’re financially handcuffed for a while.
it was only year being durable.
If he can average 25 starts for the life of his contract and avoid a major injury I’d consider that a win for the Nats. This is who he is, he’s going to make multiple IL stints every season.
Bring top pitching prospect Jackson Rutledge up.. he could out pitch Sanchez, voth or Fedde right now
The Nats fell into the trap that most over performing teams fall into. In 2019 they got hot and rode the wave to their 1st Championship. So they try to keep the same team intact in hopes of duplicating the previous years success. But the FO didn’t sit back and take in consideration, Are we really that good of a team? Or did we catch lightening in a bottle ?
They should of resigned Rendon. You don’t get rid of one the top 5 players in the game that plays a premium position 3B. As a Angels fan I’m happy that we signed him. 3B has been a black hole since Troy Glaus left the team. I think the Nats have to hit the reset button.
Please.
Rendon didnt want to be in DC, and he wasn’t buying into The Nats philosophy of big doillar, back ended, deferred dollar contracts.
In reality, Washington got destroyed by injuries early in 2019. How’s this for a sample size: after they got healthy, they finished the season 77-38, barely behind LAD for 2nd best record in MLB in that span. And then they “got hot” by moving all the way thru the playoffs. ?! Lightning in a bottle. Right.
Last Fall, the stories in the press were that the Angels needed to make a splash. If they didnt get Rendon, they wanted Strasburg, and vica versa. That doesnt mesh with your theory that The Angels had some kind of divine wisdom. But good luck with the Rendon contract. You’ve got him thru Age 37, along with the inevitable declining skills & rising injury rates. Hows that pitching staff coming along that your club doesnt pay enough attention to ?
Oh don’t give me that crap about good luck with Rendon. The last 4 years he’s been one the top 4 or 5 players in the game. He got you into the WS. It wasn’t devine intervention that became available the same year Arte was going after a # 1 SP.He just happen to be available and we needed a solid 3B so we could put Fletcher at 2B. Are SP has been good. You’re pitching staff is breaking down.
HankHonk4Life- I’m here to tell you that the Angels will not sniff at the playoffs this year, but will see others playing in the World Series this season. So who really cares about Rendon, not wanting to stay with the Nationals? If he wanted to stay he would have taken that $300 million dollar, 10 year contract that was offered to him before he went to free agency.
HaloHonkWhatever,
“Rendon got you into the WS” — Sebastian Maniscalco, thanks for weighing in. That is a classic..
And thank goodness that “he got Washington into the WS”. Because those “bums” Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin sure needed didnt do much locking down opposing teams throughout the playoffs and WS. That guy Juan Soto? A bum.. Rendon absolutely “got us into the WS”. And he carried Washington in the postseason including the WS, was the consensus WS MVP, and…oops. All of that was actually Strasburg. So sorry.
Rendon is 1 of the top 4 or 5 players in the game — what ?!?! He just made his FIRST ALL STAR GAME last year at the age of 30, probably because Drive-By guys like you finally took notice….Rendon’s a great player. Top 5 in MLB? That is nuts. But good luck with his contract. You’ve got him thru Age 37, along with the inevitable declining skills & rising injury rates.
Your boy Arte hasn’t got a single one of your teams to sniff the playoffs in 6 years. And you’re already 8 GB in the West……maybe you can ask Arte to get you a pitching staff for Christmas ?
Good luck plugging that black hole at 3B Skippy. Btw every team has pitching issues
You definitely have a future as a Dodge Ball coach. Not only do you know jack about Washington, you’re punch drunk about your own team. And you cant handle any direct questions or comments supported w/ logic posed by anyone because you aint got jack.
I’ll enjoy seeing 3B get plugged. You and your boy Arte enjoy that nice streak you all have of watching other teams play in October.
You too. And what direct questions haven’t I answered? I merely stated Arte has followed Rendon since college days. Sounds like sour grapes Rendon didn’t resign with your beloved Nats. I know I know he didn’t want to re d ign with the Nats. Why? Have fun paying off Strasburgs contract while he spends alot if time on the DL. WOW 1 WS pennant and your mister know it all.At least Arte spends money. You cant fault him for that.
Mister Know It All? That’s your straw man argument. I follow the team. You show that you dont. At all. And you think no one can tell. I loved Rendon and think the guy is a 100% class act. He is definitely missed. and I wish him the best.
So what if Arte “spends money”. The Nats spend money too, theyve had the Top 5 payroll in MLB in the past 3 years. Why are you angsting about the Nats decision to re-sign Strasburg when Arte clearly is NOT spending money well AT ALL as they miss the playoffs for a SIXTH straight season?
Why are Am I “angsting” against the Nats?. I have nothing against them. They can do whatever they want with their money. If they want to spend $35M a year on a pitcher in his late 30’s which he will be at the end of his contract, that’s their problem.
I rather spend that kind of bread on a player that plays everyday at a premium. position. Then one that pitches every 5th day, Like I said, it’s their money.
I know the Angels haven’t been to the playoffs since 2014. You don’t have to keep driving that point home with me.. Why would I follow the Nats i’m not fan of the team or any player outside of maybe Howie Kendrick. . Chill out. I know you’re upset because you live in that sweat box in D.C.
Angels will get back to the playoffs. o We have some great core players in Trout,Rendon,Fletcher and Ohtani. I know your next acid tongue response will be about Ohtani, Spare me. Your thoughts mean nothing. You sound like a bitter old man that thinks his statements are the last word.
BTW You Said the the Nats have had the top 5 payrolls the last 3 years..
Not even close
2020#12
2018#5
2017#9
2016#6
2015#6
2014#9
2013#12
I said Top 6 in “recent years”, which is my bad, should have clarified that I was referring to an *average* of the last 3 seasons Spotrac rank:
2017 – #6
2018 – #5
2019 – #7
I really dont get why people post about teams they dont follow. The How’s and Why’s on that are for another day. I barely have time to read half of the Nats articles on here. I hate the weather in DC so I moved out years ago. Bitter? No. Old? Nah. My statements are the last word? When you’re married, your statements are NEVER the last word.
I don’t know why people on here think they know more about your Nats or my Angels. Most of them go by what they read here. It’s either injuries and players coming and going. It’s too bad as a Nats fan you can’t enjoy your teams success by attending a game. Good luck in the future.
We both love baseball and love our teams. That’s all that matters. I went to SoCal for the first time in my life in December and might move there in a few years. The humidity in the Mid-Atlantic region is a joke. Good luck to you and your Angels as well.
They could have afforded to sign both Strasburg AND Rendon.
They were not going to sign both.
I’ve not heard of pitchers getting carpal tunnel. What’s the prognosis for full recovery, with or without surgery? What’s the timeline for return?
David Price. HINT: Fortnite.
Nats should’ve let Strasburg go. Now they’re gonna be handicapped by Strasburg, Scherzer, and Corbin’s large contracts for the next several years.
Might as well just have the surgery now and punt the 2020 season. To my knowledge carpal tunnel doesn’t just go away on its own. The bright side is that he’s not be diagnosed with a torn UCL, shredded rotator cuff, or arthritis.
WOW… this isn’t good at all for the Nationals and Strasburg. I wonder if there are any treatments they have access to that the general public does not. My grandmother has carpal tunnel and she’s completely useless now, so hopefully Stras makes it back to pitch again. Horrible news.
The arguements over contract lengths and money and should have/shouldnt have etc are so tired.
Whatever your opinion is, it is wrong and because of that you are also stupid.
Boiled all the arguements down as simply as possible.
You spelled “arguments” incorrectly.
That is all. Carry on.
Thank you. And yet you knew exactly what i meant but couldnt resist commenting. Perfect grammar and spelling is always necessary when commenting on blogs and quickly typing on phones.
You should slow down when you type on a phone.
Funny when people dont get sarcasm. Literally said every opinion is stupid… Making fun of all the back and forth nonsense constantly on contracts
antone — i hopee thisss post has no gramatycal errors I woild hate to upsaet you.
How in the mother loving hell do you not know a guy has carpal tunnel syndrome before you sign him to a mega multi million dollar contract?! Somebody really didn’t do their homework because this is one of the easiest things to diagnose that there is. Sheesh!
I seriously didn’t know you could have surgery for carpal tunnel. I though it was just something you lived with.
I only knew because my sister had the surgery. The problem completely went away for her… but of course, she’s not an MLB pitcher…
Well it’s good that it works.
Right there with you, Rangers. I thought it was something you medicated for pain and just lived with. This is almost a revelation to me. Now I’m going to go and learn more about it.
This guy is pretty consistent, at least by getting injured every year. How about 9 of 11 seasons, anyway.
I really think the overall problem in baseball is that weight lifting is the culprit behind the flood of injuries every year. When I was in high school (30 plus years ago), our baseball coach would kick anyone off the team for lifting weights. He insisted that running was the best exercise for baseball.Bulking up a little isn’t a bad thing, but the bulk is what I believe is the problem. Look at Hank Aaron. He was strong, but not bulky. He had a wrist action that was incredible. An all around athlete like him is baseball material. If you bulk up, you would probably do better in football.
Just an opinion. JB
I agree Jerry. Look at someone like Jim Rice too. He had tree trunks for forearms but he did not lift weights either, he was just blessed with that physique. Bodybuilding and baseball do not go together. Look no further than Judge or Stanton. Body building tears muscles and tightens them, making muscle pulls much more prevalent, especially oblique pulls, Pectoral pulls and calf/hamstring pulls.
I mean, you would think these professional teams would know the right training for their players, considering the amount of money involved. Idk what players generally do for lifting, so I can’t say either way, but one would assume they’re doing the right things.
I pitched in college and there was a lefty that was the same age as me, he came in throwing 82-85 and looking like a twig. He left throwing maybe 80, but completely jacked. Pitchers and being jacked don’t really go together.
To those of you here who are *speculating* that the Nats or other MLB teams are living in the 1950’s when it comes to current strength & conditioning standards, some questions: do you REALLY think MLB teams do not dedicate extensive medical & health staff resources & knowledge for players who sign contracts in the 100’s of millions of dollars? What was wrong w/ Strasburgs workouts? And do you seriously think player agents like Scott Boras are just going to sit back and pick their noses while their clients get mishandled as you allege? Think about it.
Glass Joe comes to mind.
Not that it matters since his season is over anyway — but isn’t it a 45-day IL this year rather than 60-day?
That was my question
Was is in Left Field, Who is on First.
So
Much for saving him from injury a couple years back
Is this guy like the most overrated starting pitcher in the majors? Over 240 career starts he has TWO complete games for his career. He’s made 30+ starts 3x in his career and they’re going to be paying him $35M per year for the next 6 years.
He’s good, but is he in the same mold as Cole or Scherzer?
Jacob deGrom has three complete games for his career. Is he overrated too? Or will you concede that the number of complete games is a meaningless stat?
By today’s standards, complete games and apparently victories don’t matter It kind of sucks that a star starting pitcher gets paid the same as an everyday player. That would be okay, but a starter only plays 2/3 of a game at the most. I certainly couldn’t pay big money for that, as a fan or an owner. The newest stat configuration for top notch pitchers seems like a scheme to get more money for pitchers who can’t win games or their starts don’t lead to wins. What has deGrom done, really? The Mets don’t make the playoffs and he doesn’t produce wins for him or the team. That’s old style thinking but is still true. deGrom is the best part time starter in baseball and the only thing good that comes out of it is that he gets a big paycheck. When he can rack up more victories than Scherzer and\or the Mets win a division, that is only when that poser should get a Cy Young. His advantage is pitching in New York. If he accumulates numbers like this in, say, Baltimore, he is SO of L on big money and awards.
What has deGrom done? Had fWAR values of the following over the last few years:
2018: 9.0
2019: 7.0
2020: 1.1
Not bad.
And what have the Mets done in that same time period? LOSE!.
In today’s market, the only thing fWAR has value for is personal stats, a big pay day and an undeserving awards. Doesn’t mean squat to your team if they don’t win. Not deGrom’s best year, but he almost got a ring in 2015. The Mets and Royals have been the same since that time. LOSERS! The Royals were at least business smart and dumped high salary players. The Mets keep on spending big bucks for the same results. LOSING! They are still being outdone by the Royals.
Yeah, so there have been plenty of studies on what constitutes as value that contributes to winning. He can’t help what his teammates do. But he’s been successful at doing what he can control. I don’t get what your argument is regarding deGrom.
@JerryBird; Name the last big signing the Mets have done?
The bottom line is W’s or L’s. The Mets get L’s. Perhaps deGrom should figure out how to get past the 6th inning as a starter and MAYBE the Mets could win games he starts. It shows me that when it is all said and done, the Mets can do as well with or without him. Let’s give him another Cy Young for 2020. It is a lost season, anyway.
Curious, didn’t the Boras Corporation create fWAR?!?!?
fWAR, hey! What is it good for, absolutely nothing!
Bykoric — If you bothered watching this guy pitch over years, and saw how he locked down opposing pitchers in the WS, than No, you wouldnt ask if this guy is the most overrated pitcher in the majors
That’s what playing Fortnite online with david price til the wee hours will do to you.
Maybe he should retire from Fortnite. There is no other explanation that makes sense.
hes lucky, this killed princess diana..oh wait that was carpool tunnel syndrome