When will Stephen Strasburg return to Nationals rotation this season?

June 9 update: The Nationals announced on Thursday that they have reinstated Stephen Strasburg from the 10-day Injured List.

Stephen Strasburg is expected to make his season debut for the Washington Nationals on Thursday, June 9, per the Washington Post. Strasburg threw an extended bullpen session on Monday and it went well enough that the Nats’ ace is ready to get back to the rotation. Strasburg hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 2021 after he had season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. If he does return this week, Strasburg will pitch in the series finale of a divisional three-game set against the Miami Marlins that starts on Tuesday.

Washington heads into Monday’s game with a 21-35 record and are sitting in last place in the NL East. They are 16.5 games back of the first-place New York Mets, but only three games back of the fourth-place Marlins. Strasburg returning could be the spark the Nationals need to salvage the season. When Strasburg does get activated, starting pitchers Joan Adon or Evan Lee would be the likely candidates to be sent down to the minors in a corresponding move.

Strasburg will be playing in his 13th major league season if he is able to come back from this injury. His injury history is substantial as he has started a combined seven games over the last two seasons. We don’t know how many more seasons the 33-year-old has left in him, but he has to be an improvement for a Washington pitching staff that has the second-worst team ERA in the MLB.