After making just eight starts over the previous three seasons, Nationals All-Star right-hander Stephen Strasburg will retire after 13 seasons, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
The report indicated that the Nationals plan to make the decision official with a press conference on Sept. 9.
Strasburg, 35, had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in 2021, had a stress reaction in his ribs last season and was shut down in spring training this year with what was characterized as severe nerve damage. He has not pitched in 2023.
As recently as 2019, Strasburg was in peak form, earning World Series MVP honors as the Nationals won their first championship. He led the National League in both wins (18) and innings pitched (209) that season.
His performance that season earned Strasburg a seven-year, $245 million contract, but he ended up delivering just his eight starts and 31 1/3 innings, while going 1-4 with a 6.89 ERA.
Strasburg was reduced to two starts in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season when nerve issues first surfaced in his right hand. His 2021 surgery included the removal of a rib as well as a procedure to relieve discomfort in some neck muscles.
A former No. 1 overall draft pick by the Nationals in 2009 out of San Diego State, Strasburg lived up to the potential by going 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA in 247 starts, all with Washington. He was an All-Star in 2012, 2016 and 2017.
In the 2019 World Series against the Houston Astros, Strasburg went 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA. He forced a deciding Game 7 by giving up two runs over 8 1/3 innings in a 7-2 victory in Game 6.
–Field Level Media