Consider this ‘Operation Shutdown II.’

This could hardly be compared to former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Derek Bell, who as a free-agent signee in 2002, decided that if he had to compete for an outfield spot, he was going into ‘Operation Shutdown,” when he quit and never played baseball again.

This time, the Washington Nationals are supposedly going to limit superstar pitcher Stephen Strasburg to 160 inninhs pitched, two years removed from undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery.

The idea is a sound one, trying to protect a potential Hall of Fame arm from being re-injured, but at some point, you just have to see what Strasburg is capable of handling.

And, by the way, the Nationals have the talent to reach the World Series this year.

The Nationals’ brass has to weigh the pros and cons of Strasburg pitching to getting injured, but at some point, you have to test his arm to see what he can and cannot do.

If Strasburg, a former overall No. 1 pick, mentioned arm fatigue or soreness, I understand, but he’s been phenomenal this season. After Sunday’s win, Strasburg is 12-5 with a 2.97 ERA and 160 strikeouts in 127.1 innings. His two-run single lifted his batting average to .343 (12-for-35) with seven RBI, an added bonus. I suppose he could always pinch-hit, but, his pitching makes the Nationals a bonafide World Series contender.

The Nationals are leading the National League East with a 65-43 record, three games ahead of Atlanta entering Monday play.

They have Gio Gonzalez (13-6, 3.34 ERA, 147 K), Jordan Zimmerman (8-6, 2.45 ERA, 99 K), Edwin Jackson (6-7, 3.57 ERA, 96 K) and Ross Detwiler (6-4, 3.02 ERA, 76 K in 16 starts) to round out the rest of the rotation. That’s a very good starting five, but to slip Strasburg out would weaken it considerably.

Strasburg is the heart and soul of this team, building around what it hopes is a bright future. That future is now.

Strasburg had his surgery two years ago. It’s time to take the training wheels off.

Somehow, the idea of bringing pitchers up and eyeballing their pitch count is odd as the days off pitching 250, 300 innings is over. It wasn’t uncommon for pitchers pre-1900 to throw in excess of 500 or 600 innings, including Hall of Famers Old Hoss Radbourn (678.2 in 1884) and Pud Galvin.

Of course, most pitchers threw every day. Then came four- and five-day rotations, but the idea of being too cautious may ruin the Nationals’ chances.

Perhaps they are building for the long haul, but this is a franchise that has had very little success ... remember this is the former Montreal Expos ... they’d want to strike while they can.

I’m not saying pitch him until his arm falls off, but monitor him. Pitch him for five innings per start, then take him out. The idea of a six-man rotation two months ago was an idea, but have him share a game with a long reliever who can throw from the sixth inning on.

The clock is ticking with 32.2 innings remaining. With Strasburg, that’s about five more games. Then comes September.

And there go the Nationals’ chances.