Thanks for the link. Would be nice to read quotes from Rizzo attributed to this philosophy though. Not just a sports columnist saying its so.
Buts lets look at this philosophy. Not scared to draft in the 1st pitchers that will need TJ surgery. Not scared to sit pitchers who have had TJ surgery in the midst of a WS run to protect them. But scared ****less to resign them, and let them walk for nothing, for fear they will need a 2nd TJ surgery. Hell of a philosophy.
Something like that has to be off the record. No way a GM could say that because it would kill any leverage the GM has. And the Nationals offered JZ a 5 year, 105 million dollar extension in 2014, so I'm not sure how much I believe it.
But it's clearly obvious that hard throwing pitchers who have UCL surgery have a shelf life after surgery and it may not be wise to invest in them long term.
I thought The Shutdown was a mistake then and I still think it is. Quite frankly, if Strasburg is on the playoff roster, there is no freaking way that Edwin Jackson is pitching in the playoffs, much less Davey allowing him to come in relief. Even so, we won't know until we watch what happens with the Mets' pitchers this season and in 2017.
As for drafting Giolito, the kid was/is special. If he hadn't needed TJS, he'd probably have been the number 1 pick. Certainly top 3. He's basically Jose Fernandez, but with a better curve ball and more velocity. And the article talks about ~8 years after TJS being the expectancy. That's basically all of Giolito's controllable years. So, frankly, we can expect to be getting the best out of Giolito and right as he's hitting that period where they expect injuries, he'll be a free agent or a year away from being one.
We wont' be letting him walk for nothing. He'll get a QO and, if Strasburg performs, the Nats will get a pick. And they'll reload with pitchers. Like Beane said, baseball is a war of attrition and what's being attrited is pitchers' arms.