Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg hasn't pitched since last season after undergoing neck surgery in July, but he's taken an important step in potentially returning to the team in the near future. Per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post, Strasburg threw a 30-pitch bullpen on Friday:

Definitely good news for the Nationals, who would love to get their ace back in the rotation sooner rather than later. He's expected to throw another pen next week in extended spring training and if all goes to plan, head out on a minor league rehab assignment in the next few weeks. Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said earlier this month that Strasburg could make his season debut by May 1st, but that feels premature at this point given the current timeline.

The right-hander made just five starts in 2021 before getting injured, posting a 1-2 record in 21.2 innings of work. He barely pitched in 2020, too. the Nationals desperately need him to get healthy and give them some meaningful innings. Strasburg is honestly just having the worst injury luck across the last couple of years but hopefully, after this latest setback, he can come back stronger than ever and be the Cy Young type arm we've all seen before.