July 23: The Nats are now backing down Strasburg’s throwing program after continued discomfort in his neck, Martinez announced to reporters (Twitter link via MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman). It’s possible he’ll see another specialist before the team determines next steps.
July 17: Stephen Strasburg has encountered a setback in his recovery from nerve irritation in his neck, as the Nationals righty continued to feel discomfort in his neck while pitching a simulated game on July 9. As manager Davey Martinez told The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty and other reporters, Strasburg threw on flat ground prior to tonight’s game, and also threw on Friday.
The fact that Strasburg is still throwing is a good sign, and perhaps indicative that this latest issue could ultimately end up being pretty minor. That said, Strasburg was placed on the injured list on June 2, and it doesn’t bode well that he is still feeling soreness after over six weeks. It isn’t clear when Strasburg’s recovery might kick back into higher gear (such as a minor league rehab assignment), as Martinez made it clear that the team wants to fully correct the injury problem. “When Stephen comes back, I want him to come back and finish the season on the mound and not have this recurrence again,” Martinez said.
Between this absence and an earlier IL stint due to shoulder inflammation, Strasburg has tossed only 21 2/3 innings this season. Due to Strasburg being sidelined by carpal tunnel syndrome for much of the 2020 season, he has pitched only 26 2/3 total frames since the start of the 2020 campaign, and since the right-hander inked a seven-year, $245MM free agent contract to return to Washington.
While Strasburg is far from the only Nats player to be waylaid by injuries over the last two seasons, his contract and his importance to the starting rotation make him stand out as a particular reason why the Nats have had trouble stringing wins together since their 2019 World Series victory. A five-game losing streak has now dropped the D.C. squad to 42-48 for the season, and while things remain close in the NL East, more losses could potentially send the Nationals pivoting towards selling some veterans at the trade deadline.
I wonder what the rational was behind the contract extension offered to him. His injury history was never reassuring.
He pitched well. Just won them a ring. So there IS in fact rational in the extension
Not rational, emotional.
El Scorcho, love the username
Rationale, not rational.
@ DockEllisDee Thanks for the correction. I should have noticed it.
@jonbluvin I should probably stop being the grammar police, I don’t mean any disrespect man. I’ve absolutely butchered my share of work dm’s due to predictive text lol
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Many players, by coincidence, have a great year right before free agency. This is what happened. Very little rationale here. The extension was not rational.
Some people buy yachts, planes, islands etc. Others prefer 30 year old baseball players.
haha
That must have been what drove the LAD to give Joe Kelly 3/25m after boston won the 2018WS and Kelly pitched well during the post season. Never mind he didn’t in 6 previous years. Same thing when Boston foolishly gave fat boy sandoval that nearly 100m deal a few years before that, solely because of a post season performance. His wild hacking ways were well known beforehand.
Some GM’s go post season blind.
It’s not like he’s been a bust for his career. Hes still a 33 WAR guy with an outside shot at the Hall (especially at the time that deal was signed), and he just about single handedly won a world series for WAS.
Strasburg opted out of his extension. He was actually a free agent for a month.
He signed before free agency began, in the exclusive window
This guy injured more than Carlos Rodon!
But look at what Carlos is doing now!!!
Carlos Rodon 2021 Cy Younh AL
Carlos is much younger.
Mike Rizzo probably figured he had a dominant 2019 with no injuries and so the injuries were behind him. I think he had to be high to give him so much for so many years. I hope Stephen Strasburg retires. The Nationals would be much better off.
You’re an idiot.
Please find a job with the Cubs that allows you to destroy the team from within.
He had the best year of his life at the right time.
You are right about that. That is what a lot of players do in the last year of a contract. They don’t get hurt, have a great year and get a huge payday only to become a huge disappointment.
sadly, not a shocker
Imagine his career if he wasn’t injured so often…
I actually had more faith in him than Max in a must win game. Max is a little homer prone even though most of them are solo shots.
Hope everyone at the Nats game tonight made it out safely.
Scary stuff, luckily both people wounded are alive
I don’t know why people would go outside close to where there had been gunfire. The safest place was inside the ballpark.
They didn’t know it was outside the ballpark
Well, the public address announcer said that it was.
That sucks.
No hall of fame for you!
“Take the money and run! Just take the money and run!”
Every dollar this team earned from the 2019 championship has been taken by this guy who is about to be gone up in smoke.
I wish they’d really get serious about investing in some sort of research program to minimize these elbow injuries it’s ruining baseball
They will never do it, why? Because some of the corporate sponsors are the culprit (and it keeps trainers busy). With every innovation cutting edge tech today; after Dr Mike Marshall showed how to pitch without injury and so many PC’s who are aware of his and Tom House’s research, yet STILL they are dropping like flies. You better start thinking deeper about the things they all share in common…
wow Dr Mike’s background is fascinating.
It’s curtains for those culprits! Curtains, I say!
The root of it is inflammation; shoulder, elbow so many more than yrs’ past are out on 10-day+ IL. So, what’s causing inflammation? There’s your answers.
I do think the problem is less highlighted bc many teams are manipulating their rosters, getting rest for pitchers who have no options, by calling it protocols, or simply saying the guy is “hurt.” So it’s masking the ones that are truly injured. (HOU) has Emanuel Solis (2nd TJ) Whitley Ivey Verlander Deason out with Tommy Johns. But Taylor Raley Scrubb Paredes Baez…literally there are less pitchers who haven’t been sidelined this year, than who have! And they aren’t the worst by far.
“ literally there are less pitchers who haven’t been sidelined this year, than who have! And they aren’t the worst by far.”
It’s almost like there was no minor league season last year, a shortened, delayed regular season this year, and a weird “will this year be normal” question hanging over this year
It’s almost like throwing a baseball is the least natural thing an athlete can do in any professional sport, and radically changing how much a guy throws leads to injuries… but yep. It’s all a conspiracy theory! Guys are actually doing fake surgeries too just to keep the numbers up!
The owners wanted something like 130 games. The players wanted 162. However, starting pitchers cannot go from 60-70 innings one year to pitching 180 or more. This is why so many starting pitchers are getting hurt. They should have started the season May 1 and had six man rotations. These two factors would have decreased the number of injuries in a big way.
I didn’t know he was still playing?
well, he’s not
Sounds roughly like what Brad Peacock went through in 2019.
Hindsight is obviously 20/20 but man that contract was sketchy from the start. Hope he recovers well and comes back strong eventually.
Isnt this the guy that was drafted before Mike Trout…
Well yes, but Trout was drafted 25th!
And the Angels acquired that pick from the Yankees. That would have been interesting to see him play 1/2 his games in that small park
Didn’t I read somewhere that Trout (who is from New Jersey) feels that it’s for the best that he plays for a team on the opposite coast? He doesn’t hate Jersey. He just feels it works out best for him if he’s not based there. (Or in NYC, Philadelphia, et. al., presumably.)
The only thing Strasburg should be throwing is caution to the wind. No reason to rush things.
That’s the opposite of what that expression means.
Hurry up and bide your time.
Throwing caution to the wind is risking whatever. No reason to rush things is the opposite. If you are going to write something, you should make sure it is correct.
I wonder if this makes the Nats sellers…you KNOW Rizzo isn’t just going to sit there….
Rizzo is pissed because the Mets got to Rich Hill first. 😉
He needs that Dick Mountain
With 67 games to go, you are 6 games out of first, where does this stooopid idea of becoming sellers come from? If it’s your team, root for them! This division is the most wide open & the closest in baseball, you have a chance!
Cause of a bad team and most odds against them without a great chance of a 2019 esque comeback?
Nats rotation outside of scherzer sucks, and their relief core is middling at best. Unlike the 3 teams in front of them, they only have single digit playoff odds.
Joe Ross was doing well but since he opted out last year, he is injured now. They desperately miss Schwarber. Robles has sucked all year. You can’t be a glove only centerfielder. Castro has had a bad year and he will probably be gone the rest of the season. They depend too much on Soto and Turner. They have many games left against Atlanta, Philly and N.Y. However, they will need to sweep many of these series. This is why. If they are four games behind the team they are playing and playing three, they only gain one game and not two if they win two out of three. If they win three out of four, they gain two games and not three.
Waste of money. They deserve to eat the majority of that contract. I’d let him walk!
Sometimes the owners just want to have at least one guy, one great player, who spends his whole career in one place. And they overpay to get it. Like the Tigers with Miguel Cabrera and the Reds with Joey Votto..
Miggy was a marlin but great point
He was a Marlin but he signed the huge contract with Detroit. I am sure many people regret this one. I think the Tigers designate him for assignment probably next year.
I feel like this is going to end up being like Prince Fielder, a good player with great potential and shown greatness but his body just can’t do it he’s going to have to throw in the towel at some point much sooner than he wants to.
Coming from a Nats fan. Tell Strasburg to take his time. The 2021 team is going nowhere, and should be in sell mode, after losing to the O’s tonight.
Maybe Strasburg will actually pitch in 2022?
What a terrible contract. Really should have gone all in to keep Rendon, and said bye to Strasburg after the WS.
I agree they should have made signing Rendon a priority. However, I don’t know if he would have accepted so much deferred money.
This might be the biggest bonehead contract ever signed.
You may be right. King Albert’s one of the worst ones. He was actually born in 78. There has always been speculation over when he was born. That is why he was picked 402nd. This is why I love it when the Angels lose. Another reason why is their stupid name. Anaheim is not even in L.A. County. They’re in Orange County. I think it was idiotic to allow two cities in their name.
I think we all know Strasburg is done for the season, but it isn’t like you can tell yourself that he has 7 or so months to get healthy for Spring Training. Then it will be some other ailment/injury that shuts him down. We’ve seen this movie before, and it still doesn’t have a happy ending
I am hoping he just takes the hint and decides to retire instead of waiting for the next injury. I am going to go out on a limb and guess he is well off. He doesn’t need any money. If he retires, he can go back to San Diego. I am pretty sure it doesn’t snow in San Diego.
I hate this for the player. I love it as someone who hates the Nationals. Anytime they waste money makes me grin.