Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg underwent a minor procedure last month which removed a non-cancerous growth in his back. At the Nationals’ Winterfest event on Saturday, Strasburg said that growth was a fibrolipoma, essentially a benign tumor, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports. Doctors told the right-hander that the fibrolipoma has “pretty much a zero percent chance of coming back.”
Strasburg was bothered by back issues throughout the 2015 season, as the growth affected his mechanics. Still, in 23 starts, he managed to put up a 3.46 ERA with a 155/26 K/BB ratio over 127 1/3 innings.
There was some thought that the Nationals would consider trading Strasburg, who is entering his third and final year of arbitration eligibility. He can become a free agent after the 2016 season.