What happened to Stephen Strasburg? Bleak update on Nationals star's return to baseball

Stephen Strasburg has been an essential member of the Washington Nationals in the MLB. However, his career has been interrupted by the series of injuries that he suffered since 2019.

Stephen Strasburg was placed on the 60-day IL list on March 30, 2023, due to suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome. However, According to Jessy Dougherty of The Washington Post, Strasburg has suffered another setback in the form of severe nerve damage. This prevented him from attending the rehabilitation program for over a month and he has been shut down from all kinds of physical activity.

This bleak health update is indeed worrying enough for the Washington Nationals management and the baseball fans to wonder if Stephen Strasburg would ever be able to make a comeback to playing baseball at all.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez however sounded optimistic about Strasburg's return. He stated:

"He's put the time in, that's for sure. I know in his heart, he wants to pitch, I can't wait until the day that if he does pitch, that he's going to come back and pitch for us. I know the fans want to see him pitch again. But at this point, it's just health-related, and it's the same thing - it's the nerve that bothered him." (via MLB.com)

General Manager Mike Rizzo stated the following regarding the situation:

"There is a rehab process and right now the process is just simple rest until he regains strength and mobility." (via MLB.com)

In Strasburg's absence, the Washington Nationals had to rely on players like Patrick Corbin, Josiah Gray, Jake Irvin, and Trevor Williams.

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Stephen Strasburg's injury struggles since 2019

Stephen Strasburg in Divisional Series - Washington Nationals v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game Five

Stephen Strasburg is a veteran baseball player. He became a 3-time All-Star in 20`12, 2016 and 2017. He is also a 2019 World Series Winner and 2019 World Series MVP in the MLB.

Despite playing for the Washington Nationals for most of his career, his injuries have made it difficult for him to showcase his skills since 2019. This is because, in 2020, he started the season on the IL list. Then on August 15, 2020, he suffered from a nerve issue in his pitching hand.

In April 2021, he suffered from right shoulder inflammation. Then a few months later, he added a neck strain to his list of sufferings. Finally, on July 27, it was announced that he would require surgery for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome.

In 2022, Strasburg suffered from a stress reaction in his ribs resulting him in being placed on the 60-day IL list. And now in 2023, Strasburg has been suffering from nerve problems while recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome.