Stephen Strasburg will not start two to three games in the regular season, says Davey Johnson-MLB
Washington Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson hints the specific timeline of when ace Stephen Strasburg will be eliminated from the season. He has stated that the last two to three games of the regular season will not be thrown by him and therefore for the
play-offs appropriate replacements will be searched by the Nationals.
Strasburg is one of the most successful starters in the National League. He has been striking-out batters consistently and winning games for the team.
Therefore, his absence from the season will affect the club in many ways. Their rotation which is among the most formidable in the season will not find it easy to keep winning matches and restricting opponents to a minimum number of runs without him.
The reason why the Nationals are taking the decision of shutting Strasburg down is the Tommy John surgery he went through before the start of the season. Team officials believe that by reducing the burden on his shoulder, they can get Strasburg to throw
smoothly for years to come and not suffer any potential injury.
“I think it came with the off days, we need a starter for another two starts,” Johnson said. “I think it’s two starts. It might be three, but I thought it was two. It depends on how many innings I let him pitch leading up to it. He’s been averaging right
around six innings. You guys should be able to do the math on that. If you need some help, I’ll help you.”
Despite the fact that Johnson has announced Strasburg will not be starting the last few games of the regular season, Nationals’ General Manager Mike Rizzo clarifies that the ultimate decision will be made by him. The latter is of the view that nothing can
be stated specifically about his time in the season and therefore only when he realises what is best he will come up with the declaration about Strasburg.
At the moment Strasburg is putting up terrific performances for the team. Therefore by the time he leaves, the Nationals will be trying to make sure his replacement proves equally reliable. It will be interesting to see as to how the starter who will throw
in place of Strasburg performs in the games.
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