The Washington Nationals’ seven-year, $245 million (329 million won) contract with right-handed starter Stephen Strasburg, 34, for 2019 is set to become the worst contract in Major League Baseball (MLB) history.
At the time, it was the largest contract for a pitcher, but Strasburg has since been plagued by multiple long-term injuries, making just eight starts.
In July 2021, it was revealed that he was suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome, and he has made just one major league start since then, but his condition has been confirmed to be quite serious.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Strasburg has suffered “significant nerve damage” and there are growing doubts that he will ever pitch again.안전놀이터
According to the newspaper, he tried to improve his condition last winter by throwing several bullpen sessions on three separate occasions. However, after throwing a bullpen in late January, he felt discomfort in his right arm and stopped.
At the start of the season, he rehabbed again, this time at Nationals Park in the early hours of the morning when it was less crowded, and tried to pitch on the mound for 10 days, but when that didn’t work out, he limited himself to lower-body workouts from late April, but even that strained the right side of his body due to nerve damage. He experienced “pain, tingling, and numbness,” which led him to stop trying to return. These are similar to the symptoms he has been experiencing for a long time. He had carpal tunnel surgery in the summer of 2020 due to pain, tingling, and numbness.
Those familiar with his condition believe it will be difficult for him to return to the mound.
Selected by the Nationals with the first overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, Strasburg is a three-time All-Star. He finished third in the National League Cy Young Award voting in 2017 and fifth two years later.
But his health has always been a question mark. In only three of his 13 seasons has he started 30 or more games.
Strasburg signed a seven-year, $175 million extension before the 2016 season, with an opt-out clause after the 2019 or 2020 seasons.
He started 33 regular-season games and threw 209 innings in 2019. He went 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA in the postseason that year, leading the team to its first World Series title. Most notably, he was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the World Series against the Houston Astros, going 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA in two games.
He was signed to a mega-contract that he rightfully opted out of, which was a disaster for the club. The team didn’t insure Strasburg against injury when they signed him, and his extensive injury history made the premiums very high.
Strasburg has three more years left on his contract, not including this season.