Stephen Strasburg arrived at Nationals Park on Monday afternoon hoping to at least test his injured right arm by playing catch with his teammates.
It didn’t take the Nationals long to scuttle that plan. Instead, their rookie right-hander will undergo a second MRI test on his strained flexor tendon and be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
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That means Strasburg will miss his scheduled start Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals and at least one more after that. The organization will wait until the second MRI – a more detailed version known as an arthrogram – is completed. Strasburg underwent an initial MRI on Sunday, but the results were inconclusive, according to general manager Mike Rizzo. This time a dye will be injected into his right arm to give a clearer view of the injury, sustained in the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Strasburg was unavailable to comment.
“[Strasburg] is anxious to find out what’s going on,” Rizzo said. “He felt good today. His elbow felt good. But anxious. He wants to find out what’s going on. To say that he’s a little anxious, a little emotional, would be fair.”
Strasburg, 22, has thrown a combined 123 1/3 innings between the minor leagues and major leagues in his first professional season. Rizzo said no decision on Strasburg’s status for the rest of 2010 will be made until the results from the second MRI are in. Team doctor Wiemi Douoguih will examine them sometime in the next three days. That will allow any remaining swelling to dissipate. The team will not seek an outside opinion from another doctor until that happens. So the waiting game continues, though Strasburg has told team officials he could pitch this week. A similar forearm twinge he experienced while at San Diego State resolved itself quickly. But the Nats are taking no chances.
“They want to pitch and you admire them for wanting to pitch and take the ball,” said Nats manager Jim Riggleman. “But the right thing to do is let the trainer, pitching coach and manager know when you’ve got a little issue going on. I’m glad that Stephen’s done that.”
