The Mets came into the 2016 season with the best young rotation in baseball, the rotation that helped them get to the World Series last season. That rotation is currently in tatters. Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom have both had season-ending surgery, and now Steven Matz's season may be over as well.
According to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, Matz will visit the doctor Tuesday for another checkup on his troublesome shoulder. His progress back has been slow and it is now unlikely the southpaw will pitch again this season. From DiComo:
Though there is still a slim chance Matz could pitch in instructional league games early in October and return to the Mets later that month as a reliever, Collins noted that "we're running out of days."
"If he pitches in some games in St. Lucie, [Fla.], and shows that he's got the command of his stuff, and it's legitimate, that his stuff's where it should be, then you've got to think about it," Collins said. "But that's down the road."
Matz has not pitched since Aug. 14 due to an impingement in his shoulder. He's also been pitching through a bone spur in his elbow. Matz had Tommy John surgery in the minors and needed three years to come back due to various setbacks.
With Matz joining Harvey and deGrom on the shelf, the Mets currently have Noah Syndergaard fronting the rotation. Bartolo Colon, Seth Lugo, and Robert Gsellman are also in the rotation, and the fifth spot has been a revolving door of late. Zack Wheeler's return from Tommy John surgery has been slow as well.
Matz, 25, went 9-8 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 22 starts and 132 1/3 innings this season before his shoulder started barking. Last year he went 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA in six starts around a lat injury.
The Mets currently sit in the top wild-card spot, though the Giants and Cardinals are right there with them.
