Nationals Manager Dusty Baker said he “did a lot of praying” Wednesday night that the injury was not as bad as it could have been. Trainer Paul Lessard came, too. “His velocity was very good”.
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While the list of pitchers who have recovered from one Tommy John Surgery is deep, the list of guys who have come back from two is pretty thin.
Andrew Miller recently dealt with a flexor mass strain in his throwing elbow. The flexor mass is not associated with the UCL. But the trainer didn’t have a timetable for when Strasburg might return.
Asked about timing, Lessard said: Im thinking lets take care of the swelling and get him to a pain-free range of motion, and then well start a strengthening program.
Strasburg returned from the DL after experiencing soreness in his right elbow, but lasted just 2 ⁄3 innings before he experienced discomfort in the elbow.
Strasburg’s rotation-mate, Max Scherzer, said the same in an interview with 106.7 the FAN in D.C.’s Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier this afternoon, telling them that they were hoping for the best. “Hopefully (Reynaldo) Lopez and A.J. can be good for the team”.
Gonzalez is the veteran of that group, and he put together a solid stretch of outings before this week’s disappointing start. His presence was greatly missed from their pitching staff. That’s a delicate thing. “And aside from the age, this is a classic player development opportunity for us”.
So what does this mean for the rest of Strasburg’s season? The Nationals famously shut down the youngster during their 2012 playoff run after he had reached his innings limit on the season.
No one is ruling out the possibility of Strasburg’s return, but it seems like a long shot at this point.
Before going on the disabled list, Strasburg allowed 19 runs over his final three starts, including nine over 1 innings in a loss to Colorado his last time out.
“I know everyone was concerned that he re-injured that Tommy John ligament, and the answer is no”, Lessard said. That’s team protocol for an injury of this kind, which was deemed to have been acute (caused by one pitch) rather than from accumulated wear and tear.
“It’s actually different”, he explained. That period would take us to the end of the 2016 Major League Baseball regular season.
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“We have the personnel that we have”, he said. “You can’t count on somebody else coming in here”, Baker said. “Or is it a better option to have Stephen, or do we not count Stephen out? Those are our options”.
