All eyes will again be on post-injury Strasburg this spring

The final countdown to spring training has arrived, and so we're spending the final days of the offseason counting down the Nationals' top storylines of the spring. We continue today with Stephen Strasburg's return from his late-season elbow injury ...

It's not unusual for Stephen Strasburg to report for spring training with some kind of question looming over him. Whether it was his return from Tommy John surgery, his return from the Nationals' precautionary shutdown or his contract status, Strasburg rarely has opened a spring with no cause for some concern.

And so it will be again this spring as Strasburg attempts to return from his latest injury, a seemingly minor tear in his forearm that initially looked much worse and nonetheless prevented him once again from pitching in the postseason.

The quick recap, for those who have forgotten the details: Strasburg was placed on the disabled list last August with what the Nationals termed "elbow soreness," then upon returning to the mound two weeks later had to be removed in the third inning after wincing with pain in his elbow. While the entire organization and fan base worried their snakebitten ace was headed for another major surgery, doctors informed Strasburg he had suffered only a strained flexor mass and partially torn pronator tendon in his forearm.

Strasburg attempted to make it back before season's end, but at the point in which the Nationals were eliminated, he had not progressed beyond throwing off a bullpen mound.

And so now the 28-year-old right-hander heads to West Palm Beach, once again counted on by his team to be a secondary ace to Max Scherzer but once again needing to prove he's not only healthy but can stay healthy.

"I'm assuming it's healed," Strasburg said in December. "That's what the doctors told me. It's just a matter of time. I've been full-go with my training. They said go treat it like a normal offseason right now."

Strasburg said this before he had begun his typical offseason throwing program, and he hasn't been interviewed since, so there's no official word on his status entering spring training. But the Nationals have maintained all along he is fine and proceeding just as he would had he never gotten hurt last summer.

As always, of course, there are significant tests for Strasburg to pass over the next seven weeks. He needs to throw off the bullpen mound every other day. He needs to face live hitters for the first time since September. He needs to build up innings and come back to pitch every fifth day without any lingering physical concerns.

More mature and reflective than he was when he burst onto the scene seven years ago as the most-touted pitching prospect in half a century, Strasburg this winter outlined a plan to keep his arm in better shape for the long haul of the season. He'll modify his between-starts routine, trying to save up more bullets for the late-summer and fall. And he'll attempt to reduce the usage of his slider, a pitch he finally added to his repertoire full-time last year but may have played a role in his injury.

"I think the biggest thing from last year is, I had a new pitch and I probably abused it," he said. "So I need to go back to what I've thrown much longer. Not necessarily stop throwing it, but don't let it take the place of other pitches that my body's been accustomed to over the years."

Strasburg indeed relied on the slider far more than expected. He actually threw it more times (399) than his changeup (309) or curveball (301), two pitches that long have been considered among the best in the sport.

So don't be surprised if there's a bit more scrutiny over Strasburg's pitch selection this spring, with tabs being kept on his slider-to-other-pitches ratio. And don't be surprised if there's extra attention paid to the health of Strasburg's arm, even more than has become the norm throughout his career.

The Nationals have committed seven more years and $175 million more dollars to him. Both sides are committed for the long haul now.

Which means there's all the more motivation to ensure he makes every one of his scheduled starts in 2017 and beyond.