we'll never know, but so far, that move has netted them zero playoff series wins I thought it was dumb to shut him down completely like they did, as opposed to moving him to the bullpen a month before the shutdown to limit his innings (and then having him in the bullpen for the playoffs) or limiting his innings earlier in the season so that he would be available in October. Or simply skipping some starts in June/July/August. Limiting his workload was the right call, just seems they could have planned it better. Completely shutting down your best pitcher going into the playoffs in hopes that he might be available if you happen to make the playoffs again in the future seems like a move that's very rarely ever going to pan out in your favor. This. See what Toronto is doing to manage Aaron Sanchez this year as a good example of what I'd have done with Strasburg that year.