Stephen Strasburg is officially retiring from the Washington #Nats, as @barrysvrluga reports. He is in the 4th year of a seven-year, $245 million contract.
That is a lot of money to leave on the table - I wonder if he worked something out with the Nats for a buyout. If not, this is great for the future of the Nats. Opens up a significant amount of cash the next few years.
Well so much for that thought: [Bob Nightengale] Stephen Strasburg will continue be paid $35 million annually through 2026 (with about $11.4M deferred each year). He then will receive $26.6M in 2027, 2028 and 2029 in his owed deferred payments. The contract was not insured, leaving the #Nats on the hook for its entirety.
In hockey, the washed up guys usually just stay on LTIR for the remainder of their contract. Does that not happen in baseball?
Baseball contracts are fully guaranteed, so injured players whose career is functionally over but are still under contract don’t usually retire, because that’s one of the few conditions under which the team can get out of paying the remainder. But if the player sticks around like that, they still count on the team salary, which may force the team over MLB’s soft salary cap and force them into paying penalties.
If he is retiring now, I am certain he came to some sort of understanding with the club. I’m sure he will be getting paid (maybe with a personal services contract), and the club can take the player contract off it’s books for cap purposes.
