Stephen Strasburg’s nervous wrist problem that ended his 2020 season after five innings would worsen every time he threw a baseball, he said Sunday, and “it would basically go from a numbness in the thumb to a numbness all over. the hand”.
Speaking to reporters for the first time since it was closed in August, the Washington Nationals ace said the problem disappeared immediately after 15-minute surgery in the carpal tunnel.
The 2019 World Series MVP began preparing for this season much earlier than usual, making a light catch on November 1 instead of mid-December and throwing bulls in early January instead of late. of the month.
“Resistant, resilient, I feel like I’m far beyond what I’ve had [been] in years past, “the right-hander explained.” I wanted to spend a little more time working on some mechanical things and be ready to start the first day. “
What it was: The 32-year-old was throwing a mound alongside teammates during Friday’s practice.
“He’s one of our workhorses. And not seeing him outside was hard. But for me, if he ever got hurt and fixed a problem, last year would have been the time,” manager Dave said. Martinez. “I’m glad he fixed it and I’m glad he feels great.”
Strasburg said the initial stoppage of the program affected by last year’s pandemic (spring training stopped in March, then teams resumed preparations in July) was hard on the arm.
There was a period of uncertainty about when the so-called “summer camp” would begin, so Strasburg would launch into the net to try to be ready.
That was when things resumed when numbness first appeared.
“If you knew you would start when you did, you definitely wouldn’t have picked up a baseball for a while,” he said. “It ended up hurting me more than it helped me.”
Game notes
Martinez said SS Trea Turner could “possibly” move from leadership to No. 2 or 3rd place in the lineup. “We’re running a lot of different formations, different numbers, talking to a lot of analytics people. Honestly, I’d like to get [CF Victor] Oaks at the top of the lineup, even if only against the left-handed throw. “… The nationals would love to avoid the bad start they managed to overcome in 2019 (19-31), so how do they do it? Martinez said he could ask players in the position to play seven, eight or nine innings of the last ten days of exhibition games. “I want these guys to be ready on May 1 by April 1,” he said.