When the 2019 Nationals won the franchise’s first World Series since the 1924 Senators, Stephen Strasburg was the team’s MVP. Strasburg won Game 2 (six innings, two runs, seven strikeouts, one walk) and a win-or-go-home Game 6 (8 1/3 innings, two runs, seven strikeouts, five hits, two walks) — both on the road.

The Nationals want to honor Strasburg, one of the organization’s defining stars. That much is clear. But are they willing to pay him the rest of his contract, as it was originally drawn up? That’s where it gets murky.

Strasburg last pitched in a game in June 2022, as he dealt with severe nerve damage that thwarted multiple attempts to get back on the mound. General manager Mike Rizzo said last year Strasburg would eventually be in the team’s ring of honor as one of their great stars. The team approached Strasburg last year about retiring, and plans for a press conference were far enough along that the team had a tentative September date. Then it all fell apart, because ownership wanted Strasburg, who has a fully guaranteed $245 million contract, to change the deal’s terms to benefit them.

Now, Strasburg — who is technically still on the Nationals 40-man roster — isn’t at spring training, and the Nationals have made it very clear he’s expected to be.

“Yeah, he’s invited like every other guy on our 40-man roster,” general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s got until Feb. 24 to be here, and, yeah, I expect him to be here.”

Why are the Nationals dragging this out with their injured homegrown star? Why is Strasburg, who by all accounts would rather be anywhere than spring training, digging in? Money.

Strasburg, who signed a seven-year, $245 million contract before 2020, is owed $35 million annually over the next three seasons. Ownership wants to defer that money, though it’s unclear how much of it and for how long, sources briefed on the negotiations say.

Strasburg is already due $80 million in deferred money from 2027-’29. (He will also get a $3.9 million interest payout in 2029, per Spotrac.) Restructuring the deal would free up significant funds for the Nationals, who have allocated more than half of their 2024 payroll (roughly $126 million) to Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. (Corbin, who is in the final year of a six-year, $140 million deal, has a $35 million salary in 2024, though $10 million of it will be deferred without interest and paid between November 2024 and January ’26.)

It’s unclear if the potential deferrals being proposed to Strasburg include interest or not, or how long they would be, though one source briefed on negotiations called them “significant.”

No matter what the offer is, it’s Strasburg’s money, and his right to say no to any addendum to the deal. Both sides agreed to the deal months after he hoisted that MVP trophy. Strasburg could sit on the injured list and play out the rest of his deal if he wanted, costing the Nationals a 40-man roster spot for the next three offseasons. Though major-league contracts are guaranteed, if a player voluntarily retires they forfeit any remaining salary, which is why teams and players often reach a settlement in these situations.

So, if Strasburg has all the power here, there’s nothing the Nationals can do, right? Not necessarily. Technically, if a player doesn’t arrive by the mandatory spring report date a club can impose discipline.

Still, it would be hard to envision the Nationals punishing Strasburg if he’s not in West Palm Beach. Not only would it be bad publicity, but that mandatory date really is for clubs to make the argument that a player arriving after that may not have enough time to be ready for the season. Players aren’t paid in spring training and their contracts generally begin around April 1. In Strasburg’s case, he’s not getting ready to play and both sides have publicly acknowledged that.

Rather, Strasburg would be reporting to coach and mentor young players, which is what the Nationals say they want him to do. Even if he’s visibly injured (a 2021 surgery removed a rib and two neck muscles), and even if Strasburg has deteriorated enough physically that he can’t play catch or simulate a windup.

The whole thing is awkward. Do the Nationals really think the shy, reclusive Strasburg would be a good coach, or is this just an attempt at strong-arming him in an attempt to get some power back? Is seeing a downtrodden Strasburg at his locker, where he barely acknowledged reporters even when he was healthy and playing, a feel-good spring sight? Or is the very idea threatening enough to make a guy who has always avoided the spotlight to rework his contract or else?

No matter what this is, it’s a bad look for a team to do this to a player who helped change the identity of D.C. baseball, who fought in his contract for better conditions for the players.

Strasburg is not the first player to be deemed physically unable to play with millions on his contract. But in cases like those of David Wright and Prince Fielder, their respective teams had an insurance policy that paid them a portion of the players’ salary. In the case of both Fielder (who was released by the Rangers) and Wright (who was released and became a  Mets special advisor), a settlement was reached with the insurance company for some of the money. Wright also agreed to restructure his $15 million salary in 2019.

The Nationals didn’t take out an insurance policy on Strasburg. The sense was the premiums would have been extremely high, even if the club and a company agreed on a policy, given Strasburg’s lengthy injury history and his age. Had they done so, maybe they would have been paid out some portion of the money. Maybe it would have been enough for ownership to stomach the rest. Maybe Strasburg would have smiled and tolerated a few minutes in a feel-good podium scene despite his aversion to attention.

Instead, here we are in the first few days of spring training, and the Nationals are facing off against their own star.

(Top photo: Kelly Gavin / MLB Photos via Getty Images)