Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg To Undergo Season Ending Surgery

In the midst of a disastrous season, the bad news continues to pile up for the Nationals, as Stephen Strasburg is undergoing season-ending surgery.

Stephen Strasburg was once touted as the most impressive pitching prospect of all time and the Nationals selected him number one overall in 2009. While Strasburg didn’t fully live up to expectations, the righty has been fantastic during his 12 seasons in D.C. Unfortunately, Strasburg has been hampered by injuries throughout his career and his 2021 season has come to a premature close.

Earlier this afternoon it was reported that Strasburg will be undergoing season-ending surgery for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS).

Over the last few weeks, Strasburg had been making strides in his rehab and had his eyes set on returning, but on July 23rd his recovery hit a snag. He suffered an injury setback to his neck which has led to today’s announcement.

Strasburg’s setback has coincided with the Nats going from buyers to sellers. With their co-ace not returning, the National’s chances to climb out of their hole were drastically reduced.

Strasburg’s career has been dictated by injuries, dating all the way back to when he underwent Tommy John surgery during his rooking season. From 2015-2018, Strasburg battled injuries, throwing less than 176 innings each season. But in 2019, everything finally went his way and he was able to remind everyone why he was so hyped up early on in his career.

In 33 starts, he went 18-6, with a 3.32 ERA, 251 strikeouts, and a 3.25 FIP. Strasburg took his game to another level during the Nationals 2019 playoff run. In five starts, he went 5-0, with a 1.98 ERA, and 47 strikeouts while only walking four. The Nationals co-ace was named World Series MVP after going 2-0, with a 2.51 ERA, and 14 strikeouts while walking three.

This is the second straight year where Strasburg’s season has ended early due to injuries. Last year he underwent surgery for carpal tunnel, while this time around it was TOS. Since signing his massive extension after the 2019 season, he has only thrown 26.2 innings.

TOS is one of the hardest surgeries to recover from in baseball. A prime example is Matt Harvey who never was able to return to form. But the Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly was able to return better than before, so here’s hoping Strasburg can return to the diamond and stay there.