Nats work to manage Strasburg's hand pain

While some injuries are tangible, the effects of Stephen Strasburg’s right-hand nerve issue are more challenging to pin down. They don’t always bother him -- he’s on pace for his next scheduled start -- but when they do creep in, they’re irritating.

“It’s really hard to manage,” manager Dave Martinez said on Wednesday. “I wish I had a definitive answer; I don’t. We just have to go by what he’s saying and what he feels.”

Strasburg missed his first two starts of the season because of his right hand. He made his debut on Sunday against the Orioles, and he felt the irritation toward the end of his 4 1/3-innings outing, which included 26 pitches in the final frame. Strasburg allowed five runs, seven hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

“I was a little bit concerned,” Martinez said of Strasburg’s discomfort. “We’ll see how he feels. Yesterday, he threw a little bit, he still felt it. … It’s a weird thing. He doesn’t feel it all the time.”

The Nationals had wanted Strasburg to throw on Wednesday at Citi Field ahead of their game against the Mets, but rain put that plan in question. He has been working with the training staff in the meantime to alleviate the issue. Strasburg said on Sunday he doesn’t think pitching will have long-term effects, and he is trying to adapt to throw through it.

“I know he’s in there getting treatment,” Martinez said. “I know they’re doing a bunch of things to straighten that area, his forearm and all that other stuff. We’re just going to have to wait and see how he feels here in the next day or so. I know he’s pitching on Friday, so hopefully today he feels better, tomorrow he doesn’t feel it and then we’ll go from there.”

Freeman leaves game with elbow injury
Left-handed reliever Sam Freeman exited the Nationals’ 11-6 loss to the Mets on Wednesday in the fourth inning with a flexor strain. He felt a pop in his left elbow and signaled to the dugout to alert the staff. Martinez said he will receive an MRI on Friday when the team returns to Washington. Freeman, 33, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010 while playing for the Cardinals' organization.

“For him, it’s a level of concern,” Martinez said.

Freeman is one of two left-handers, along with Sean Doolittle, in the Nats’ bullpen. The team’s No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, southpaw Seth Romero, is traveling as part of the taxi squad. After the game, Martinez said he would speak with general manager Mike Rizzo about their left-handed options.

“It’s unfortunate,” Martinez said of Freeman’s injury. “Super guy, works his tail off. Hopefully it’s just a strain, but we’ll know more on Friday.”

Slow and steady with Soto
Part of the Nationals' plan to keep their players healthy is making sure they aren’t doing too much, too soon. Juan Soto made his 2020 season debut on Aug. 5 after being reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list, and the team is encouraging him to take it easy on his arm in left field.

“He hasn’t thrown that much, and I don’t want him to get hurt and blow his arm out,” Martinez said. “So we told him, ‘Just come up on a single if you can just keep the guy from advancing to second, but hit the cut-off man.’”

Soto was a Gold Glove Award finalist last season with a .993 fielding percentage. He led all National League left fielders with 273 putouts.

“He’s been playing long toss, and we’re trying to get his arm strong,” Martinez said. “This is one of those things where, for me, he missed so much time, and not being able to do the baseball stuff, per se, this is one of the issues that we’ve had with him.”

Martinez also has been watching Soto on the bases, where both he and Victor Robles -- who also missed time during Summer Camp -- have been asked to, “Be smart. Don’t go out there and do something crazy. Don’t run like you’re going to go through the wall every time you sprint.”

Martinez expects Soto will be back at full go after about 10 or 15 games. In the meantime, he has not been held back at the plate. He entered Wednesday night batting .364 with two home runs, including a Statcast-projected 463-foot drive on Monday.

“Juan’s a huge part of our offense, and he’s swinging the bat really, really well,” Martinez said. “So we want to keep him in there. Whatever we can do to maintain him playing every day, will definitely help us.”

Harris closing in on return
Will Harris (right groin strain) is expected to be activated from the 10-day IL on Thursday, Martinez said. The late-inning reliever threw “a heavy workload” on Tuesday, and the Nationals are waiting to get him back in the bullpen so he doesn’t throw on consecutive days.

“He feels good today,” Martinez said. “We’re going to give him another day today. Hopefully, he feels good tomorrow, we’ll activate him tomorrow.”