Strasburg rehabbing at home, Guerra lands on IL

Stephen Strasburg is rehabbing at his Virginia home one week following carpal tunnel surgery on his right wrist, but the Nationals right-hander won't be cleared to throw "for a while," according to manager Davey Martinez.

Strasburg had surgery last Wednesday in Baltimore to repair the carpal tunnel neuritis that had developed in his throwing hand. Though club officials never officially declared him out for the season, he was transferred to the 60-day injured list once it was determined he needed the procedure, and there's no indication he'll be able to make it back in time to play this year.

Martinez said Strasburg had sutures put into his wrist, which will be taken out next week.

"Once he gets them out, he'll get re-evaluated and then we'll go from there," the manager said from Philadelphia during his pregame Zoom session with reporters.

Because this is an uncommon injury for baseball players, there isn't a well-known timetable for recovery like there is with other ailments. But the Nationals have said they expect Strasburg - who made only two starts totaling five innings - to be 100 percent well before the start of spring training.

In the meantime, he'll rehab at home because players on the IL aren't allowed to be in the big league clubhouse this season due to coronavirus restrictions.

"He's got an unbelievable gym in his house, and he's got somebody coming over to help him," Martinez said. "He's working out the best he can, but he's not going to throw, I would assume, for a while."

Meanwhile, Javy Guerra left Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night less concerned about his left hamstring than he initially was when he had to come out of the game in the bottom of the eighth, but the Nationals still decided to place him on the 10-day IL shortly before gametime.

The veteran reliever issued three straight two-out walks and then threw ball one to Didi Gregorius before motioning to the Nationals dugout for a trainer. Martinez later said Guerra told him his hamstring "grabbed him pretty good" on his final pitch.

By the time he left the park at the end of the night, though, Guerra was feeling better. Martinez was still waiting for an update when he spoke with reporters, but around 6 p.m. the club announced Guerra had been placed on the 10-day IL with a strained left hamstring. Right-hander Kyle McGowin was called up from the taxi squad to take his roster spot.

"Hopefully he's OK," Martinez said prior to the announcement of the transaction. "We'll see when he comes in. But he said he felt fine. I tried to call him this morning. He didn't answer the phone. Some of these guys sleep until 1 o'clock in the afternoon. But hopefully he's OK, and maybe a day (off) today and he'll be ready to go tomorrow."