Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said Tuesday what Nats fans have long been thinking: that Stephen Strasburg’s future is “a little bit of a mystery.”
Actually, fans don’t even see mystery in the status of Strasburg, who has pitched 31.1 innings since being named the 2019 World Series MVP.
It seems almost certain that the 34-year-old, who had carpal tunnel surgery in 2020, then surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome in 2021, is done.
Strasburg rehabbed himself back to the big-league club in 2022, but after his only start – in which he was tagged for seven runs in 4.2 innings in a loss to Miami – he went back on the injured list with a stress reaction in his ribs.
“I know that he’s working hard strengthening his core and the other parts of his body,” Rizzo said. “We’re just going to have to see. With the type of surgery and rehab that he’s had, it’s unfamiliar to us. It’s unfamiliar to a lot of people. We’re going to have to take it day by day.
“We’ll have to see where the rehab process takes us later on in the winter,” Rizzo said. “We’re going to monitor him. He’s local, so we’ll see him all the time and we’ll see where he’s at going into spring training mode.”
Strasburg signed a seven-year, $245 million contract after the Nats’ 2019 World Series run.
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Chris Graham
