The second opinion may not be in yet (should be coming over the next several days) but the dark news for the Nationals franchise is in that their star phenom pitcher will require Tommy John surgery and will need a recovery time of about 12 months (one year – which is normal for pitchers who have the procedure done).
This is a huge blow for the Nationals for a variety of reasons. The first problem the Nationals have is the same that any team has when they lose a player to injury. Strasburg is one of the best if not the best player on the roster right now due to his early success and his high ceiling. This team needs Strasburg on the roster if they want a chance to win or if they want to be able to attract free agents to get them excited about this team. Now they will have the issue of what will he be like after he came back. There are a good amount of pitchers who have had success after the surgery like Carpenter and Burnett. Than there is one player that is so similar to Strasburg: Kerry Wood. Wood was phenomonal before Tommy John. Since then he still has been good, he has been better than average, but never really returned to his standing as a young breakout star.
The next impact for the Nationals is the money. Strasburg brought in on average 12,000 for games that he was expected to start. It is next to impossible to get tickets for a reasonable price when Strasburg is pitching because the fans know when he is on the mound, they have a much better chance of seeing something special. Not having Strasburg is a critical blow for the economic status of the Nationals, who need help to continue to revitalize their fanbase (and now really need help because Strasburg is where they put all their eggs in the basket).
All of baseball is the final group that feels the negative impact of Strasburg getting injured. His existence on the mound was fantastic for baseball as he brought sold out games on the road no matter where he went. He demanded National TV coverage with people watching across the state getting interested in baseball due to this young star. The baseball card market, which has seen some struggles over the last decade had a peak this summer when Strasburg first made it, dipped when he first got injured, came back when Strasburg came back, and we can all guess where its going now that some Kerry Wood fears are coming to fruition.
Strasburg injured is bad for the Nationals, and bad for Baseball.
