Matt Harvey is feeling good after undergoing season-ending surgery on July 18 in St. Louis to relieve thoracic outlet syndrome.

The procedure involved removing a rib so that muscles constricting a nerve that bridges the neck and shoulder had space to relax.

Harvey hopes to excel once again in 2017 as he did in his return from Tommy John surgery in 2015.

"I'd like to think so. Obviously I don't have a crystal ball," he said. "The way things are feeling now, the way the body feels, I'm feeling great."

The nerve issue led to a lack of feeling in his pitching fingers.

Stephen Strasburg said relying too much on his new slider put stress on his pitching arm and contributed to the injury problems that sidelined him during the second half of last season and the playoffs.

"I fell in love with it," the Nationals right-hander said Sunday at the team's annual fan festival, "because it was working, especially the first half. I mean, it was a quick out."

Angels star slugger Albert Pujols had surgery on his right foot Friday, possibly sidelining him past Opening Day.

Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Pujols had the procedure Friday in North Carolina to release his plantar fascia, the ligament connecting the heel to the toes.