Stephen Strasburg: Boras' $50 Million Man?
It should come as no surprise to anyone that not only did Scott Boras snap up likely No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg as his latest client, but made it known that he intends to get him one of the two or three richest contracts ever awarded to a major league rookie.ย
The deal he is seeking from whatever team drafts Strasburg (almost certainly the Washington Nationals at No. 1) is in the neighborhood of six years and $50 million.
That is right along the lines of the contract Daisuke Matsuzaka received from the Red Sox.ย But the difference is, Dice-K was a proven success in Japan and the World Baseball Classic before reaching the majors.ย
Strasburg played for Team USA in the 2008 Olympics and is absolutely dominating college ball right now, but is he really ready to go straight to the major leagues?ย According to many of his scouts, yes he is.ย Itโs likely heโll get a call-up to whatever team takes him as soon as heโs eligible.
Washington Nationals GM Stan Kasten is not stupid. He knows that if he wants to secure a generational talent like Strasburg, heโll need to award him the contract Boras believes he deserves.
The Nationals especially cannot afford to alienate fans by letting Strasburg slip through their fingers. Once they draft him, though, it can almost be guaranteed heโll be in a Nationals uniform sometime in 2009.
In case youโre still behind on Strasburg, check out Lee Jenkinsโ feature story on him from Sports Illustrated.ย Also, watch this video of him striking out 23 batters in one game back in 2007;ย Heโs since gotten stronger and gained more velocity.
