Washington Nationals: What If Stephen Strasburg Left?

Dexter Fowler Could’ve Been Signed

First off, if Strasburg had reached the free agent market, there would’ve been no team who would’ve offered him the mega deal that the Nationals gave him due to the elbow worries.

Elbow discomfort and injury have always been an issue for Strasburg and, if the Nationals had waited until the offseason, they probably would’ve been able to ink him for 60 million less.

At first that may sound absurd, but signing a pitcher in his prime to a seven-year deal with an history of elbow discomfort is something very few, if any, would be willing to do. You can’t take that risk. If the Nationals waited until the winter to resign Strasburg, they could’ve used the money to sign two free agents to fill two big voids.

While Washington was able to trade for outfielder Adam Eaton, albeit the hefty price of top pitching prospects Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez and pitcher Dane Dunning, they would’ve been better off signing a center fielder rather than trading for one. By waiting to extend Strasburg, the Nationals would’ve been able to make a run at Chicago Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler.

Fowler, the switch hitting centerfielder, played well for the Cubs and helped propel them to a World Series championship. However, the Cubs couldn’t afford to keep him long term, so they let him walk to the rival Cardinals.

St. Louis inked him to a five-year/$82.5 million deal. Fowler wouldn’t have come cheap, but he would’ve filled the void in center for the Nationals, and signing Fowler wouldn’t have cost them their top two pitching prospects (Giolito,Lopez).

Also by not extending Strasburg, the Nationals would’ve likely been able to re-sign All Star closer Mark Melancon.