The Nationals announced Saturday that both pitcher Stephen Strasburg and outfielder Bryce Harper had offseason surgery, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (1, 2). First baseman Adam LaRoche also had a procedure done.
Nationals injuries: P Stephen Strasburg and OF Bryce Harper have surgeries
Adam LaRoche also went under the knife. All three players are expected to be ready for spring training.
Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE
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Strasburg needed arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow while Harper had the bursa sac in his left knee repaired. LaRoche had loose bodies in his left elbow that had to be removed. All three surgeries took place over the past three days.
Harper dealt with a variety of injuries over the course of the 2013 season, with pain in his hip, knee, ribs, triceps and other nagging aches at some point throughout the season. Many of those injuries stem from crashing into the outfield wall twice early on in the year while making a play on defense. Despite being beat up, he posted an 854 OPS with 20 homers in just his second season.
While Strasburg did not have any reported elbow troubles through the season, he did tail off slightly in the second half. He was still very good, however, and finished the year with a 3.00 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 183 innings. Similarly, LaRoche did not appear to have any issues playing through his elbow problems, though he did lose over 100 points of slugging percentage from 2012 to 2013.
All three players are expected to take about four to six weeks to heal. Thus, all three should have no issues being ready for spring training.
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