Just a month and a half after winning the World Series and World Series MVP, Stephen Strasburg has agreed to return to the Nation’s Capital.

After opting out of a 7 season, $175M extension that he signed in 2016, the ace has agreed to another 7 year deal with the Nationals according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and ESPNs Jeff Passan is reporting that the deal is $245M.

This is $35M a year, an all time record for a pitchers annual salary. The previous record was Zack Greinke’s deal with the Diamondbacks after the 2015 season that saw him earn $34.4M a year.

After being infamously shut down in 2012 before the playoffs, Strasburg has broken out to be a postseason icon in DC Lore. His 1.46 lifetime ERA in 9 postseason games is lower than that of Madison Bumgarner, Tom Glavine, Bob Gibson and Curt Schilling.

Over 10 seasons, Strasburg has struck out 1695 batters to only 377 walks. It’s complimented by a 3.17 ERA in 1438.2 IP. He’s a 112-58 lifetime pitcher, with a 33.9 WAR by baseball reference calculations and is still only 31 years of age. This will keep him in Washington until 38. A no-trade clause is not in the deal because Strasburg has already met the minimum 10-5 right requirements and is staying with the same club he came up with. How this impacts Washington’s plans to retain free agent third baseman Anthony Rendon is unknown.

PSE and its writing staff (on Twitter) will keep you updated on all major MLB offseason news.

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