Will Padres make a serious attempt to sign Stephen Strasburg

SAN DIEGO, CA- APRIL 3: Starting Pitcher Stephen Strasburg #37 of the San Diego State Aztecs throws from the mound against the UC Davis Aggies during their game on April 3, 2009 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA- APRIL 3: Starting Pitcher Stephen Strasburg #37 of the San Diego State Aztecs throws from the mound against the UC Davis Aggies during their game on April 3, 2009 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 22: One million dollars in $100 dollar bills is displayed at the Money Museum in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago June 22, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1914 the Chicago Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve banks that make up the nation’s central bank which helps formulate the nation’s monetary policy. Today the central bank said the economy will expand slower than previously thought, marking the second time this year that Fed officials lowered their forecasts for growth. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 22: One million dollars in $100 dollar bills is displayed at the Money Museum in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago June 22, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1914 the Chicago Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve banks that make up the nation’s central bank which helps formulate the nation’s monetary policy. Today the central bank said the economy will expand slower than previously thought, marking the second time this year that Fed officials lowered their forecasts for growth. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) /

How much

Before we talk about whether or not he Padres can get it done, let’s talk about just how much it would cost them.

MLB Trade Rumors predicts that he’ll get a $180 million contract over six years. That’s an average salary of $30 million a year.

I tend to think that’s a little high considering Strasburg will turn 32 next July.

What I would personally pay for Strasburg is $150 over five years, which is still that $30 million a year salary, just on a shorter deal.

But again, if the Padres are going to land the ace, they might have to overpay just like they did with Manny Machado last offseason.

They could try and construct the deal so that it’s backloaded for when Eric Hosmer is only making $13 million a year starting in 2023.

They could pay him $25 million the next three seasons and then bump it up to $35 million the last two or three years — or something to that degree.

Either way you look at it, the Padres are going to have to fork out a lot of money in order to land Strasburg. I don’t see him giving San Diego a hometown discount.

And it’s hard to imagine them having three players making over $20 million a year, which is what they would have for the next three seasons with Machado, Hosmer, and Strasburg.