Strasburg, 34, was shut down more than a month ago, unable to take part in any rehabilitation, per the report. He had surgery to treat thoracic outlet syndrome and hasn’t pitched in a game since last June.
He has a history of nerve issues.
After an offseason throwing session at Nationals Park in Washington in February, he reported nerve pain in his neck and shoulder. He missed spring training and was put on the 60-day injured list before Opening Day, and although he is eligible to come off, that isn’t in the Nationals’ plans.
He had continued to try to stay in shape by working out his lower body, but that stopped because of pain, tingling and numbness.
Strasburg has pitched just 31⅓ innings in three seasons since winning World Series MVP honors in 2019 when Washington beat the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic.
In the 2019 regular season, Strasburg threw 209 innings and finished with an 18-6 record, then signed a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Nationals. Last season, he made one appearance and pitched 4⅔ innings of a loss to the Miami Marlins on June 9, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
According to the Post, the plan is for Strasburg to rest and see whether the nerve conditions improve.
The team has nothing to lose by playing the waiting game because, per the report, the Nationals are on the hook for the remaining three seasons of his contract. His age and injury history would have made the cost of insuring his contract exorbitant, provided the Nationals even could have found a company willing to provide disability insurance, the Post said.
Strasburg largely has been away from the Nationals. He did not attend their Opening Day game, does not travel with the team and has not spent much time in the locker room before home games, per the Post, which added that manager Dave Martinez no longer includes the pitcher in his injury reports.
Strasburg, a three-time All-Star, has spent his entire 13-year major league career with the Nationals. He was the first overall pick in the 2009 draft out of San Diego State.
He is 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA over 247 career starts. His 1,723 strikeouts ranks first in Nationals franchise history.
BOSTON — The Little Ball of Hate still has a lot of love back in Boston.
Brad Marchand appeared to be holding back tears on the ice when the TD Garden crowd gave him a standing ovation Tuesday night during his first game as a Bruins opponent. The 37-year-old forward tapped his heart, wiped his face and waved to the crowd as both teams banged their sticks against the ice and even the referee and each linesperson clapped along.
The last remaining member of Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup-winning team, Marchand was traded to the Panthers last season for another chance at a title. He helped Florida complete its pursuit of back-to-back championships, while the Bruins plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
In his first game back as a Panther, the Boston crowd cheered him off the ice after the pregame warmups, as the TD Garden DJ played a mashup of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Marchand responded with a stick salute as he headed off via the visitors bench.
Fans wearing Marchand’s Boston and Florida No. 63 jerseys cheered again during introductions for the former Bruins captain. (They booed when he drew a tripping penalty just 33 seconds into the game, then gave a mixed reaction when the Panthers scored on the power play — a goal that first appeared to be Marchand’s but was credited to Mackie Samoskevich; Marchand picked up an assist.)
But things got really emotional during a commercial break midway through the first period, when the scoreboard showed a highlight reel from Marchand’s time in Boston — including shots of him raising the Stanley Cup, and ending with him posing with the captain’s “C” that he wore for just one full season.
Florida ended up winning the game, 4-3, on a last-minute goal.
A four-time All-Star who had 422 goals and 554 assists in 16 seasons in Boston, Marchand remains in the Bruins’ top 10 for goals, assists, short-handed and overtime goals, playoff goals and points. His 1,090 games played is fourth in team history, one spot ahead of Don Sweeney, the general manager who dealt him to Florida at the trade deadline.
Marchand did play in the TD Garden as a visitor in February when he suited up for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Although he was still a member of the Bruins, the Boston fans booed him.
He was traded to Florida a few weeks later as Boston sold off its roster and began a rebuild. But when the Panthers visited for the Bruins’ first home game after the trade deadline, Marchand was injured and skated on the Garden ice only in practice.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
OTTAWA — Defenseman Jake Walman, activated from injured reserve on Monday after missing the season’s first six games with an injury, scored in overtime on Tuesday night, lifting the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Walman, a late-season acquisition last year who helped Edmonton back to the Stanley Cup Finals, was injured in a preseason game on Sept. 21, but the 28-year-old veteran picked up where he left off on Tuesday. He finished with 25 shifts across 18:51 of ice time, and registered four blocks.
The Oilers wrapped up their five-game road trip and handed the Senators their second consecutive loss on home ice.
The Senators scored twice in a span of 1:25 to tie the game 2-2 early in the third. Ottawa got on the board after winning a puck battle along the boards. Drake Batherson dished a pass to Dylan Cozens who scored on the power play past Stuart Skinner, who made 19 saves. Just over a minute later Thomas Chabot beat a screened Skinner to tie the game.
The Oilers opened the scoring late in the first with a power-play goal when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fed Connor McDavid, who snapped a shot from the top of the faceoff circle for his first of the season.
Edmonton extended its lead to 2-0 just 49 seconds into the second period after a turnover by the Senators. Leon Draisaitl skated in before sliding a pass back to rookie Isaac Howard, who beat Linus Ullmark, who finished with 22 saves, for his first career NHL goal.
Toronto led 1-0 after the first period before giving up three goals in the first five minutes of the second much to the dismay of the home crowd at Scotiabank Arena.
Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev left with an upper-body injury during a second-period penalty kill after he collided with Devils center Dawson Mercer.
Toronto challenged New Jersey’s first goal for goaltender interference only to see the call on the ice stand. The Devils went on the power play with the ensuing delay-of-game penalty, and Glass made it 2-1 moments after Tanev skated off to the locker room.