Pitcher Stephen Strasburg MLB Return in Doubt

Pitcher Stephen Strasburg MLB Return in Doubt

04 June, 2023

According to a story from The Washington Post, Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg is still unable to engage in physical activity owing to serious nerve damage. The 2019 World Series MVP’s future as a major league pitcher is uncertain.

It is “not promising” that Strasburg will recover from the injury, and past attempts at rehabilitation both before and during the current season were immediately abandoned because of the nerve damage to his body. The 2023 team hasn’t seen much of Strasburg, and Nationals manager Dave Martinez has stopped giving regular reports on the three-time MLB All-Star’s health.

Strasburg, who was selected first overall in the 2009 draft and was once regarded as one of the league’s top pitching prospects, has struggled with injuries throughout his major league career.

Especially during the Nationals’ 2019 run from last-place club in May to National League wild-card team to World Series champion, he has shown the talent that led to that hype while healthy.

That season, Strasburg led the MLB in wins and innings pitched with a 3.32 ERA, earning votes for the Cy Young Award and MVP. But he kept his greatest performance for October, pitching the Nationals to their first World Series championship in franchise history while allowing just eight earned runs in 36.1 innings over five playoff outings.

The next offseason, Strasburg re-signed with the team on a seven-year, $245 million deal.

However, in the more than three seasons since then, Strasburg has started eight total games, including just one in 2022, for a total of 31.2 innings. The Post claims that the Nationals don’t have disability insurance under the terms of Strasburg’s current contract, placing the team in a precarious financial situation at a time when the present ownership wants to sell the team.

Additionally, it has been stated that the Nationals’ ongoing sale process has been “paused” until the end of the 2023 campaign.

The Nationals are 25-32 right now as they continue to rebuild. Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, and Anthony Rendon are just a few of the players who excelled alongside Strasburg before and throughout the team’s 2019 championship run. Only a few players from that team are still playing, including Strasburg.