Nationals' plan is now to have Strasburg skip starts
Nationals manager Davey Johnson, when speaking with the media before Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Braves, said that Stephen Strasburg would probably miss somewhere around two or three starts in the final days of the season.
The team has talked several times about shutting him down and limiting the right-hander to somewhere around 160-180 innings since this is his first full year back after having Tommy John surgery.
He also apparently would not pitch in the playoffs either.
"Any more ideas on how to get Strasburg pitching in October?" Johnson joked before the game, saying he's getting all kinds of advice on how to handle this unusual situation.
Strasburg now has pitched 145 1/3 innings. Johnson said he usually keeps Strasburg to around six innings per start. If so, that means the right-hander would get up to 160 innings in three more outings.
Johnson said there's "some leeway there," but the team still won't reveal exactly what they're doing just yet. They will tell Strasburg before his final start. It won't be a surprise.
The Nationals did this last year with right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, and that worked out well this season. But the Strasburg situation is much different because of the post-season implications.
