Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg has decided to retire, ending a career that began as a No. 1 draft pick, included 2019 World Series MVP honors and was derailed by injuries, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
Strasburg’s decision to retire was first reported by The Washington Postwith an official announcement expected to be made Sept. 9.
“When healthy, he was one of the most dominant starting pitchers in the game,” longtime teammate Ryan Zimmerman told The Associated Press on Thursday. “You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who worked harder than he did. He deserves to be celebrated because he was a pretty special player. You could argue that he lived up to, or even exceeded, what was expected of a No. 1 pick.”
Strasburg, who turned 35 last month, had his career knocked off course by injuries, making just eight starts since leading the Nationals to their first title in franchise history in 2019. He had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve and blood disorder, that involved removing a rib and two neck muscles.
The right-hander has not pitched since June 9, 2022 — his only start that season, which lasted 4⅔ innings before he went back on the injured list. He has thrown only 528 pitches in the majors since signing a $245 million, seven-year contract in December 2019 and did not report to spring training earlier this year after experiencing a setback.
“It’s been tough, I’m sure, for him and his family and the guys in this clubhouse miss him and we wish nothing but the best for him and what’s to come,” Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin said Thursday. “He’s a big reason why we’re here and a big reason why we have a championship ring.”
Strasburg, featuring a 100-plus mph fastball, was touted as a generational talent before becoming the first pick in the 2009 draft out of San Diego State, and he became one of the faces of Washington’s franchise after making his much-anticipated debut in 2010. He struck out 14 batters and allowed two runs on four hits with no walks against the Pittsburgh Pirates to win a memorable game that became known as “Strasmas.”
“To be the type of prospect that he was — in an age where everyone gets hyped up so much, you almost expect to be let down — and him being this next phenom, and then to actually do that in his first start, it was fun to be a part of that,” Zimmerman said. “The electricity. The crowd. The excitement. All for a game in the middle of the season. It was like something I’d never really seen before.”
After Strasburg had Tommy John surgery early in his career, the Nationals took heat for shutting him down late in the 2012 season despite him being 15-6 with a 3.16 ERA. Without their ace, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Division Series.
The long-term benefit of the shutdown didn’t emerge until October 2019, when Strasburg went 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA on Washington’s championship run and won each of his two starts against the Houston Astros in the World Series.
In the 2019 regular season, Strasburg went 18-6 to lead the National League in wins while also throwing an NL-high 209 innings.
In 2022, he made one appearance and pitched 4⅔ innings of a loss to the Miami Marlins on June 9, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
Strasburg, a three-time All-Star, has spent his entire 13-year major league career with the Nationals. He is 113-62 with a 3.24 ERA over 247 career starts. His 1,723 strikeouts ranks first in Nationals history.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
