As we head to the second week of action in the 2017 Major League Baseball season, the Mets are still without one of their vaunted young starting pitchers in Steven Matz. He’s on the disabled list with a strained flexor tendon in his left (throwing) elbow.
The Mets doctors, however, find nothing of the sort.
Via Bob Klapisch of NewJersey.com:
Ever since Steven Matz revealed he’s suffering from a strained flexor tendon, Mets officials have been privately asking who made the diagnosis. “Our [doctors] found nothing wrong,” said one person with knowledge of Matz’s care. The team is both frustrated and flummoxed, in the dark as to what’s actually wrong with Matz and when he’ll be able to pitch again.
The story later says that an MRI showed no damage to the elbow and the team doctors have found “nothing alarming,” yet Matz continues to have discomfort in his pitching elbow.
To be clear, the Mets aren’t suggesting Matz is faking an injury or anything like that, though the columnist even wonders if Matz needs to learn to pitch through some discomfort, as that’s a reality in the majors.
Matz, 25, is 13-8 with a 3.16 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 168 MLB innings. He pitched through bone chips in his elbow for a bit last season before being shut down and he had those surgically removed in the offseason.
