Stephen Strasburg Could Skip Future MLB All-Star Games Due to Past Injury

Washington Nationals star Stephen Strasburg thinks the All-Star Game caused an injury last season, and it could prevent him from playing in the exhibition in the future.

The pitcher explained Sunday that playing last year "pushed me back a bit" and "started making my arm hurt," per the Associated Press.

Strasburg went on the disabled list shortly after the All-Star break with an elbow injury.

It was the 29-year-old's third selection to the All-Star Game, although he didn't pitch in either of the last two years. His lone appearance came in 2012 when he threw one scoreless inning.

However, it appears simply being involved in the festivities was enough to mess up his routine.

Injuries have been a problem for Strasburg throughout his career, with the right-hander only reaching 200 innings once since entering the league in 2010. He notably underwent Tommy John surgery earlier in his career, but even lately he is only averaging 25 starts per year over the last three seasons.

He has been dominant while healthy, ending the year 6-1 with a 0.86 ERA in the second half of last season to help him finish third in Cy Young voting. His 2.52 ERA in 2017 was his lowest of any full season of his career.

This makes sense for him to potentially avoid unnecessary trips that could cause injury, even if he is under contract through 2023.

With the Nationals hosting the 2018 All-Star Game, however, the team might want one of their biggest stars front and center.