Washington Nationals: GM Mike Rizzo on Stephen Strasburg’s comments

After pitching in a total of 245.1 innings in 2019 during the regular season, Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg was able to be a key cog in the Nationals winning the World Series. For his part, he won the 2019 World Series MVP award, came in fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting, and even garnered some NL MVP votes.

However, since then, it has been a struggle for him. He has suffered through a litany of injuries, which have caused him to only make eight starts (31.1 innings) in the three seasons since.

This year, Strasburg has had thoracic outlet syndrome, leading him to only start in one game (4.2 innings) before heading back to the IL.

Last week, Washington Nationals ace starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg spoke to The Washington Post about his struggles.

“Every time I’ve had an injury, I felt like I was going to be the best there is coming back,” Strasburg, 34, told The Washington Post last week. “… This is the one that’s still definitely a big question mark.

“I realize the clock is ticking. It’s been almost three years since I’ve been able to pitch competitively, and it’s not like I’m getting younger.”

Yesterday, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was a guest of The Sports Junkies show on Audacy’s 106.7 The Fan in D.C. (the flagship affiliate for the Nationals) and he responded to Strasburg’s comments.

Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo on Stephen Strasburg

“I see (Strasburg) every day, I see him working out in the clubhouse and stuff,” Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said on Stephen Strasburg. He’s upbeat and positive, and I’m going to be too. We’ll see what happens, there’s a lot of wear and tear on that body, that arm, and this last surgery (thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in July) he had is something that’s unpredictable and we haven’t seen a lot of in this industry.

“But I hope for the best, we’ll see where (he) is this winter and we’ll keep tabs on him and hopefully he can come back and help the franchise. I’ve seen him in the clubhouse and he’s interacting with his teammates and he’s upbeat, always saying hi to me and interacting with the coaches and the players. So I think that emotionally he’s fine …”

You can listen to all of his comments here or below (at about 12:15).

Without Strasburg this year, the Nationals have been the worst team in baseball, as they have a 52-97 record. They have a starting pitcher ERA of 5.76, which is nearly a half of a run worse than the next team.

Strasburg, 34,  is under contract through the 2026 season as 2020 was the first year of his seven-year contract extension with the Nationals. If Strasburg decides to retire, he would forego $140 million over the next four years ($35 million per season).