WASHINGTON (AP) A person familiar with the negotiations says that Stephen Strasburg has agreed to a new contract with the Washington Nationals that will pay the pitcher $175 million over seven seasons starting in 2017.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday night – while Strasburg was pitching against the Detroit Tigers – because the Nationals had not announced the deal.
Strasburg would have been eligible for free agency for the first time after this season. Instead, he stays with the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2009 and shut him down before the playoffs in 2012 to protect his surgically repaired right elbow.
He will go from making $7.4 million this season to earning $25 million annually from 2017-23. The total dollars added equal the sixth-highest in a deal for a major league pitcher. He can opt out and become a free agent after 2019 or 2020.
Strasburg would earn a $1 million performance bonus each year for pitching 180 innings.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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