Elbow woes will cause Steven Matz to miss the start of the regular season
The Mets have the rotation depth to cover for Matz's injury for the time being
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
As expected, Mets left-hander Steven Matz will not be ready for Opening Day. Manager Terry Collins confirmed Wednesday that Matz continues to experience discomfort in his elbow, so he was sent for tests and will be shut down for at least a few days. He won’t be ready for Opening Day even if Wednesday’s tests bring good news.
Here is Collins talking about Matz and his bothersome elbow:
Mets manager Terry Collins updates Steven Matz's status: pic.twitter.com/dqzCDvVafb
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 29, 2017
Matz was examined by team doctors a few days ago, who determined there is no structural damage in his elbow. That’s good. He was able to throw a bullpen session and play catch in recent days, and pitching coach Dan Warthen had Matz alter his arm swing slightly to relieve stress on the elbow.
Clearly though, whatever is bothering Matz is serious enough to a) require additional tests, and b) keep him out on Opening Day. His injury history is not pretty either. In addition to the lat, elbow, and shoulder troubles he’s dealt with the last two years, Matz also needed three years to come back from Tommy John surgery while in the minors due to various setbacks.
Collins announced on Wednesday his first three starting pitchers for the regular season only. They’ll figure out the last two spots in the coming days. So, right now, the rotation looks like this:
Robert Gsellman is a safe bet for either the fourth or fifth spot. Collins mentioned Seth Lugo and Zack Wheeler as rotation candidates, and I’m sure Rafael Montero will also get some consideration given his strong spring.
Either way, the odds are strongly in favor of the Mets needing all their starters this season. No team gets through the season using only five starters, and keep in mind deGrom, Harvey, Matz, and Wheeler are all coming off some sort of arm surgery. The Mets figure to take it easy on them, especially early in the season.
Matz, 25, went 9-8 with a 3.40 (121 OPS+) and 129 strikeouts in 132 innings last season. Due to all the injuries, he’s never thrown more than 141 innings in any season since being selected in the second round of the 2009 draft.
