Stephen Strasburg, the 2019 World Series MVP whose career was derailed by injuries, officially was listed by Major League Baseball on Saturday as being retired.
This had been the expected outcome for quite some time, but it was unclear when — and how — word would emerge. In August, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Strasburg had decided not to try to resume pitching.
The 35-year-old Strasburg was a hard-throwing right-hander who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft and briefly rose to stardom, leading the franchise to the first championship in Nationals history. But he has not pitched since June 9, 2022 — his only start that season, which lasted 4 2/3 innings before going back on the injured list.
He had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, a nerve and blood disorder that involved removing a rib and two neck muscles.
Strasburg 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 in 2023 or 2024.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
