Strasburg going back on IL after reporting discomfort

Stephen Strasburg is going back on the injured list after reporting discomfort following his bullpen session over the weekend, bringing the Nationals right-hander’s attempted return from thoracic outlet surgery to a screeching halt.

Strasburg had come out of Thursday’s start in Miami – his first big league outing in more than a year – genuinely encouraged about the way he felt physically, and the Nationals had already announced him as their scheduled starter for Tuesday’s home game against the Braves.

But after throwing off the bullpen mound Saturday in his typical between-starts regimen, the 33-year-old informed club officials he “didn’t feel right, some discomfort,” according to manager Davey Martinez.

Strasburg went to have an MRI test today; the team is still waiting for results, but Martinez already announced he’ll be placed back on the IL and won’t start Tuesday as initially planned.

“Like I said before, this surgery, this thoracic outlet thing, you just don’t know,” the manager said. “We don’t know if this is the same issue or not yet, but we’ll know more as soon as we get the MRI and the doctors read the image. But it stinks because he was all excited to be back. But hopefully it’s just a minor setback.”

Martinez said he doesn’t know yet who will start in Strasburg’s place. Swingmen Paolo Espino and Evan Lee combined to throw six innings Sunday against the Brewers, which would seem to eliminate both as potential options. Recently demoted right-hander Joan Adon started Sunday for Triple-A Rochester, allowing three runs in two innings while throwing 62 pitches.

Top pitching prospects Cade Cavalli and Cole Henry also aren’t available to return yet after starting recently, Cavalli on Friday and Henry on Saturday.

Right-hander Jackson Tetreault, who was among the Nationals’ options to make a fill-in start June 1 in New York before they went with Lee instead, is currently slated to start for Rochester on Tuesday, so the 26-year-old would be on schedule if the organization chooses to promote him (though he would require a spot on the 40-man roster).

“We’ll see how we get through this game today,” said Martinez, whose club is scheduled to play eight games over the next seven days against the red-hot Braves and Phillies. “As you guys know, this week is going to be something. We’ve got a lot of games coming up, so ... we’re definitely going to do something.”

This development with Strasburg is both surprising and not entirely unexpected, given the lack of positive track record for pitchers returning from thoracic outlet surgery. His rehab process had seemingly gone well, including three minor league rehab starts and then his return to a major league mound Thursday.

Though the results from that start against the Marlins – seven runs allowed over 4 2/3 innings – weren’t positive, Strasburg was legitimately encouraged by how he felt physically after throwing 83 pitches.

“It felt good, and I’m excited to learn from it and get back out there for my next one,” he said after the game. “All in all, it’s a place to start and try to build off it.”

The Nationals were equally optimistic, though they’ve acknowledged throughout they could only take this process one day at a time, understanding a setback was always a possibility.

“After the surgery, you kind of just see things in a broader spectrum and hope that they come back and they can pitch, and all of a sudden they become similar to the person they were before,” Martinez said. “But you just don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how long before you get sore. ... And I’ve seen this. I’ve seen this before in other guys ... it took them a while. Some guys, a couple years before they were able to come back and really get over it and pitch. Hopefully that’s not the case for Stephen.”

Until they have MRI results, the Nationals won’t come up with a plan for Strasburg, but even in a best-case scenario he’ll be out at least 15 days while on the IL. Given the history, a more substantial IL stint is probably safe to assume.

“This is so different for every pitcher, but right now as I said all along, we’re going to be as careful as possible with him and try to do everything right for Stephen and for this organization moving forward,” Martinez said. “Right now we’re at those bumpy roads, and we’ll see what happens.”