Nationals Owner Pulls Plug On Stephen Strasburg Retirement Ceremony Scheduled For Today

Well this is awkward.

After a public display of appreciation for their once-heralded pitcher, the Washington Nationals are now making things extremely uncomfortable for Stephen Strasburg's farewell.

The team was reportedly supposed to have a retirement ceremony later today for their 2019 World Series winning star pitcher after a supposed buy-out agreement that both parties agreed to after Strasburg realized that his pitching career was over due to a catastrophic arm injury.

Or so everyone thought.

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg was reportedly planning on retiring from the team. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

STRASBURG HAS ONLY PITCHED 8 TIMES IN 4 YEARS

In a statement on Friday, Nats owner Mark Lerner said that any talk of a retirement ceremony was "mischaracterized" as The Athletic reports that the team wanted to 'modify the terms' of the buy-out agreement. Apparently after looking over the fine print, the Nats are trying not to pay off the rest of Strasburg's $35 million per-year salary thru 2026 as well as $80 million in deferred salaries from 2028-2030.

"It is regrettable that private discussions have been made public through anonymous sources attempting to negotiate through the media. While we have been following the process required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, behind-the-scenes preparations for a press conference had begun internally. However, no such event was ever confirmed by the team or promoted publicly," Lerner continued all but ensuring that there is definitely some sort of disagreement happening behind the scenes.

Meanwhile Nats fans are saying "this is why we can't have nice things," as the battle between the two sides could very well play out very awkwardly in the public sphere.

Strasburg is due over $100 million as per terms of his remaining contract. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

NATIONALS ARE IN REBUILDING MODE

A 3x All-Star, Strasburg has only pitched eight times in the past four years, including just once last year and none this year after suffering nerve damage to his pitching arm. He's currently on the 60-day IL, however if he now doesn't formally retire the team will have to carry him over on their 40-man roster throughout this offseason and pay him at least the $35 million he's owed for this season.

Lerner's hesitation doesn't come as a total surprise considering prior to this season there were reports the family was looking to sell the team. They have already fired various personnel within the organization as well as will have to figure out what to do with general manager Mike Rizzo who still remains without a contract.

One thing's for certain, it's going to be a long offseason for Nationals fans after another rough outing for the team who currently sits in last place in the National League East with a record of 63-78.