Washington Nationals pitcher and the 2019 World Series MVP will be having season-ending hand surgery to correct carpal tunnel in his right hand, Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Saturday. According to Martinez, Strasburg will have the surgery next week, and then the Nationals will formally move him to the 60-day injured list.
“Hopefully the surgery goes well,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said on Saturday. “The biggest thing is that the surgery relieves anything he has and that he’s able to rehab and come back -- for me, come back strong -- next Spring Training. Long-term goal, that’s what we’re hoping for.”
“If a miracle happens and, you know, but he’s still got to ramp up, and I don’t see that the case. I’ve told you before that we want to make sure that he’s 100 percent when he comes back. We don’t want nothing else to break down on him. So we’re going to take this very slowly and carefully,” Martinez went on to say. “With the way the surgery goes these days, the doctor said that he should be totally, 100 percent when this heals and ready to pitch again,” Martinez said. “We’re very hopeful that’s the case.”
Strasburg has been dealing with nerve trouble since the start of the 2020 baseball season. His last start was on August 14, against the Baltimore Orioles. He only threw a total of 16 pitches before he exited that game.
Strasburg was 0-1 and gave up six earned runs in five innings pitched and had a 10.80 ERA and just two strikeouts in 2020 and only appeared in two games.
During the offseason, Strasburg now 32 signed a seven-year, $245 million contract after helping the Nationals win the first championship trophy in team history.
During the Nationals 2019 postseason run, he went 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 47 strikeouts over 36 ⅓ innings. It was reported on Friday, August 21, that Strasburg was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in his pitching hand, which cast doubt for many on whether he would be able to pitch again in 2020.