Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Sunday that Matz (lat) remains week-to-week and "probably" won't pitch again this season, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Matz landed on the 15-day injured list Aug. 14 with a left lat strain and has yet to resume throwing. While the Cardinals haven't indicated that his lat strain is serious enough to require surgery, the team won't look to rush back a historically injury-prone pitcher in the midst of a non-contending season. Assuming Matz remains shut down, he'll finish his second season in St. Louis with a 4-7 record, 3.86 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 98:32 K:BB over 105 innings. He'll head into the 2024 campaign with two seasons remaining on the four-year, $44 million deal he signed in November 2021.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Shut down two weeks
Rotowire
Matz (lat) said Thursday he will be shut down from throwing for at least the next two weeks, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Matz was diagnosed with a left lat strain earlier this week, which occurred in the midst of his best stretch since signing a four-year, $44 million contract with the Cardinals in November of 2021. He's scheduled to undergo a checkup MRI toward the end of August that will likely determine whether he can pitch again in 2023.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Goes on IL with lat strain
Rotowire
St. Louis placed Matz on the 15-day injured list Monday with a left lat strain.
This injury comes with brutal timing for the 32-year-old southpaw, who has delivered a 1.86 ERA and 38:7 K:BB in 38.2 innings (seven starts) since returning to the Cardinals' rotation in early July following a month-long stint in the bullpen. Zack Thompson will take over the vacant rotation spot, possibly through the remainder of the 2023 campaign. Lat strains usually require several weeks of rest and rehab, and St. Louis is fully out of contention here in mid-August.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
Matz has allowed a combined three earned runs in his past four starts, all six innings in length. That's reason enough to pick him up, given the current pitching shortage in Fantasy Baseball. Even if you're skeptical he can sustain it over the long haul, it's reasonable to think he will against the Mets next time out, and he gets the Pirates after that. Has he made any obvious changes to fuel this turnaround? No, but we've seen Matz have stretches of Fantasy relevance in the past. This seems like one of those enjoy-it-while-it-lasts scenarios that doesn't require much deeper thought. Just don't get too attached.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Posts quality start, picks up win
Rotowire
Matz (4-7) earned the win Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits over six innings in a 5-4 victory over Kansas City. He struck out five.
Matz earned his fourth consecutive quality start, a stretch in which he's 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA and a 19:3 K:BB over 24 innings. His lone blunder Saturday came in the third inning, when he allowed a two-run home run to Nelson Velazquez. Matz is tentatively scheduled to face the Mets, who strike out the fourth-least in MLB but rank 21st in runs scored, in his next start.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
Matz continued his fine work of late with six one-run innings against the Rockies on Saturday. He has allowed a combined two earned runs in his past four starts, which is good for a 0.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 7.8 K/9. He's been around long enough that we know he hasn't suddenly transformed himself into an ace, but he has had stretches of Fantasy relevance before. His overall ERA is down to 3.91, which is right in line with his 3.94 xERA and 3.94 xFIP. It's at least made him worth having around as a matchups play, and lo, his next matchup is against the hapless Royals.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
Matz continued his fine work of late with six one-run innings against the Rockies on Saturday. He has allowed a combined two earned runs in his past four starts, which is good for a 0.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 7.8 K/9. He's been around long enough that we know he hasn't suddenly transformed himself into an ace, but he has had stretches of Fantasy relevance before. His overall ERA is down to 3.91, which is right in line with his 3.94 xERA and 3.94 xFIP. It's at least made him worth having around as a matchups play, and lo, his next matchup is against the hapless Royals.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Pitches well again
Rotowire
Matz (3-7) allowed a run on five hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings to earn the win Saturday over the Rockies.
Matz gave up a run for the first time in three starts, but he turned in his third straight quality start. It's been an impressive return to form for the southpaw after an awful start to the season. He's now at a 3.91 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 93:32 K:BB over 99 innings through 24 appearances (16 starts). Matz will looking to keep it rolling next weekend in a road start versus the Royals.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Blanks Cubs for win
Rotowire
Matz (2-7) tossed six shutout innings Sunday against the Cubs. He allowed just four hits and no walks while striking out two.
Matz tossed his second straight start of shutout baseball and put a stamp on an excellent month of pitching. Over five starts in July, Matz posted a 1.69 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 27:5 K:BB in 26.2 innings. Matz has allowed just one run over his last 17 innings and a home start against the Rockies this coming week should set him up for another favorable outing.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Throws quality start
Rotowire
Matz allowed five hits and a walk while striking out six over six scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
Matz completed six frames for the first time this season, and this was one of his sharpest outings. He's allowed six runs (five earned) over 20.2 innings across four starts since rejoining the Cardinals' rotation. The strong stretch has him at a reasonable 4.34 ERA despite a 1.44 WHIP and 85:30 K:BB through 87 innings through 22 appearances (14 starts). Matz has likely solidified his place in the rotation -- a situation that could even improve if the Cards become sellers at the deadline -- so he can be projected for a home start against the Cubs this weekend.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Gets off schneid with first victory
Rotowire
Matz (1-7) earned the win over the Cubs on Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out six batters over five innings.
Matz has bounced between the rotation and bullpen this season, but coming into Thursday he hadn't picked up a victory in either capacity. The left-hander finally found himself in the win column in his 21st appearance of the campaign, going just deep enough to qualify for the victory. Matz needed 97 pitches (59 strikes) to get through five frames, though he gave up just three hits and one walk and didn't hit any batters. The veteran hurler has pitched well in two of three starts since returning to the rotation, and he's likely to stick in that role as long as he continues to be effective.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Struggles in start
Rotowire
Matz did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks over 4.1 innings against Washington. He struck out four.
After tossing a gem in his return to the starting rotation last time out, Matz retired his first seven batters Saturday. However, the start went downhill fast, as Matz served up a pair of solo homers in the third to Alex Call and CJ Abrams. Through 12 starts (60 innings), Matz is 0-6 with a 5.40 ERA and a 58:23 K:BB, though he's been much improved since moving to the pen. Considering his struggles as a starter, it's unclear if Matz will stick in the rotation. However, he may be forced into at least one more start with Adam Wainwright (shoulder) shelved.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Draws another start
Rotowire
Matz is scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Nationals in St. Louis.
Given the Cardinals' thin starting pitching depth along with the fact that Matz struck out nine while allowing an unearned run over 5.1 innings in his outing last Sunday against the White Sox, it's not surprisingly that he'll get another turn through the rotation. Despite his excellent showing his last time out, the southpaw is sitting on an 0-7 record, 4.65 ERA and 1.51 WHIP over 71.2 innings this season, so he's still tough to rely on as a streaming option even in what profiles as a strong matchup. To Matz's credit, he's been far more effective while working primarily as a reliever since the beginning of June, pitching to a 1.93 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB in 18.2 innings over the past six weeks.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Strong in return to rotation
Rotowire
Matz allowed an unearned run on two hits and struck out nine over 5.1 innings in a no-decision versus the White Sox on Sunday.
Matz was taken out of the rotation in late May and showed well as a reliever with a 2.81 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 16 innings across eight relief appearances. He carried over the success in a return to the rotation Sunday, as he was charged with only one run on an RBI single by Elvis Andrus in the third inning. Matz concludes a challenging first half with a 4.65 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 69:25 K:BB over 71.2 innings through 19 appearances (11 starts). With the rest of the Cardinals' rotation lacking consistency, Matz may have a good chance to remain a starter following the All-Star break.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Will get start Sunday
Rotowire
Matz will start for the Cardinals on Sunday against the White Sox, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
That would have been Matthew Liberatore's turn, but he was optioned back to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday. Matz has pitched a little better since being moved to the bullpen in late May and could get an extended rotation opportunity with Adam Wainwright (shoulder) also out of the picture, but there's not much fantasy appeal here in general.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Not starting Wednesday after all
Rotowire
Matz is no longer in line to start Wednesday against the Marlins, as the Cardinals have confirmed that Matthew Liberatore will draw the start in Miami, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Though prior reports suggested that Matz would get the starting nod Wednesday, the Cardinals will instead turn to Liberatore on three days' rest after the rookie covered 4.1 innings in the second game of this past Saturday's doubleheader with the Yankees. Manager Oliver Marmol hasn't revealed whether Matz will be available in relief Wednesday, but if the veteran southpaw goes unused, he'll likely be a candidate to fill the spot in the rotation vacated by Adam Wainwright (shoulder), who was placed on the 15-day injured list earlier in the day. Wainwright had been lined up to make his next start Sunday versus the White Sox.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Drawing start Wednesday
Rotowire
Matz will start for the Cardinals on Wednesday in Miami, Isaac Azout of SBNation.com reports.
The Cards needed a spot starter following a doubleheader over the weekend. Matz has posted a 1.98 ERA since being demoted to the bullpen a month ago, which includes 6.2 scoreless frames over his last two appearances. That was preceded by a 5.72 ERA in 10 starts, though, making him a poor streaming option especially since he won't be ready for a full workload.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Working toward return to rotation
Rotowire
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Friday that there is a plan in place to work Matz back into the starting rotation, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Matz is sitting as the odd man out after the Cards decided to pare down their six-man rotation to a traditional five. Matthew Liberatore currently holds the No. 5 spot and is scheduled to start Tuesday against the Rangers, but it seems as though Matz isn't completely out of the team's plans yet despite a 5.60 ERA and 1.70 WHIP.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Getting start skipped
Rotowire
Matz will be available out of the bullpen for the Cardinals' upcoming two-game series versus the Royals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Matz remains winless at 0-6 with a 5.72 ERA through 10 starts this season. With a scheduling quirk leading to consecutive days off (Wednesday and Thursday), the Cardinals won't need a fifth or sixth starter for a while. It's possible Matz could rejoin the rotation during a road series in Texas from June 5-7. With Matthew Liberatore up in the majors, Matz may eventually be ticketed for the bullpen on a more permanent basis if he can't get his season on track.
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Cardinals' Steven Matz: Inefficient in loss
Rotowire
Matz (0-5) allowed an unearned run on six hits and two walks while striking out six over 4.2 innings to take the loss Friday versus the Dodgers.
Matz needed 103 pitches (66 strikes) to get 14 outs in an inefficient outing. He's yet to complete six innings in any of his nine starts this season, though this was the second time in his last three games that he's been able to limit the damage to one run. The Cardinals still aren't giving him much run support even when he has a good showing. Matz owns a 5.05 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB across 46.1 innings this season. With Matthew Liberatore up from Triple-A Memphis, it appears the Cardinals will work with a six-man rotation for a while. Matz should not be considered safe to remain a starter if/when the team returns to a five-man rotation. He's tentatively projected for a road start in Cincinnati next week.
