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The Padres placed Matsui (groin) on the 15-day injured list Wednesday.
Since straining his left groin in late February, Matsui has begun throwing off a mound and is slated to face hitters soon, but he'll still likely to remain on the shelf until at least around mid-April. Because he missed the entire Cactus League slate, he'll need to complete a rehab assignment in the minors before making his season debut with the Padres.
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Padres' Yuki Matsui: Opening season on IL
Rotowire
Manager Craig Stammen said Friday that Matsui (groin) will begin the season on the injured list, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Matsui hasn't appeared in a game this spring after suffering a groin injury during a live BP session in February. He resumed throwing off a mound in early March, and Stammen added that the 30-year-old southpaw is slated to resume facing live hitters within the next several days. Assuming his rehab continues to progress smoothly, he may not need to spend more than the 15-day minimum on the IL.
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Padres' Yuki Matsui: Resumes throwing off mound
Rotowire
Matsui (groin) was recently cleared to resume throwing off a mound, and he participated in defensive drills Monday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Matsui's availability for Opening Day remains a big question mark, but the fact that he's slowly beginning to ramp back up is a positive sign. He'll presumably need to complete at leasts a few additional side sessions before San Diego considers deploying him in a Cactus League game.
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Padres' Yuki Matsui: Uncertain for Opening Day
Rotowire
Matsui (groin) is limited to flat-ground throwing and is questionable for Opening Day, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Matsui has been limited after tweaking his left groin last week. The reliever has already had to pull out of pitching for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic and might not be ready for Opening Day, either. Matsui holds a 3.86 ERA and 130:60 K:BB over 126 regular-season innings in his two years with the Padres.
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Padres' Yuki Matsui: Suffers groin injury
Rotowire
Matsui cut a live batting practice session short Thursday due to left groin tightness, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Matsui is now questionable to participate in the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan, though he could resume playing catch as soon as Saturday. The left-hander has been a solid contributor in his first two regular seasons with the Padres, posting a 3.86 ERA and 130:60 K:BB over 126 innings.
Matsui walked one and struck out one over one-third of a hitless and scoreless inning to earn the save in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Dodgers.
Sean Reynolds and Robert Suarez both struggled earlier in the ninth inning, and Matsui wasn't much better. He allowed an inherited runner to score on a wild pitch, but Matsui struck out Dalton Rushing to squash the Dodgers' late rally. This was Matsui's first save of the season -- Suarez has been locked in as the Padres' closer, though he's now been scored upon in three straight appearances. Overall, Matsui is at a 3.00 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 35:15 K:BB over 30 innings. He's added just two holds and isn't a regular part of the late-inning mix, as the Padres have plenty of other options to close if Suarez loses the job or becomes part of a committee. Don't expect to see many other save opportunities for Matsui this season.
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Padres' Yuki Matsui: Struggles out of bullpen Saturday
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Matsui allowed two runs on four hits without retiring a batter in Saturday's loss to Pittsburgh.
Matsui entered with one out in the seventh inning with San Diego down 3-0. The southpaw gave up four straight hits -- three singles and one double -- to allow the Pirates to plate two runs before he was given the hook. It was an uncharacteristically poor performance by Matsui, who entered Saturday with a solid 2.74 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 10.2 K/9 through 23 appearances. He hasn't been on the fantasy radar, though, since he isn't being used in high-leverage situations often. Matsui has just two holds and no save chances on the season.
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Padres' Yuki Matsui: Strong start to season
Rotowire
Matsui allowed one run on two hits with a strikeout in an inning Tuesday against Athletics. He has a 1.80 ERA with nine strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
Matsui is working in middle relief but could be used in higher-leverage roles if he can continue his high strikeout totals and limit his walks. After striking out 12 batters per nine innings during his 10-year career in Japan, Matsui's K rate dipped after moving to the States. His 26.8 percent strikeout rate during the regular season last year was still above league average, but Matsui's 10.5 percent walk rate likely prevented possible ascension to higher-leverage work.
Matsui (3-2) took the loss against the Angels on Tuesday, allowing three runs on one hit and two walks without retiring a batter.
Adam Mazur gave San Diego six innings of one-run ball in his MLB debut, but Matsui wasn't able to keep the game tied upon entering in the seventh. The lefty reliever issued two walks around an infield single to load the bases, and all three runners came around to score after his departure. The rough outing came two days after Matsui blew a save opportunity against the Royals, giving up three runs while retiring just one batter as the ninth-inning option of choice while regular closer Robert Suarez -- who had pitched on consecutive days -- was unavailable. Prior to the pair of ugly appearances, Matsui held a solid 2.88 ERA, but that mark now sits at 4.97.
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Padres' Yuki Matsui: Notches fifth hold
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Matsui earned a hold against Atlanta on Friday, walking one batter and striking out two over two-thirds of an inning.
Matsui was called upon with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning with the trying run at the plate, and he struck out Michael Harris to end the frame. The lefty reliever then struck out Orlando Arcia to begin the seventh before walking Adam Duvall, which got him the hook. Interestingly, usual closer Robert Suarez was deployed in a high-leverage spot in the eighth frame Friday, but Matsui -- who was expected to compete for the ninth-inning role after working mostly as a closer during his 10-year career in Japan -- wasn't available to close since he had already been used. If Suarez sees more work before the ninth, it's possible Matsui gets an occasional save chance, though he's mostly struggled in May, allowing four runs on five hits while posting a 6:6 K:BB over 4.2 innings covering six appearances.
Matsui pitched two-thirds of an inning in Wednesday's regular-season opener against the Dodgers in South Korea, allowing one walk and striking out one batter without allowing any runs.
Matsui worked as a closer during most of his 10-year career in Japan, but he came into Wednesday's contest in the sixth frame in his first big-league appearance. The southpaw began his outing by walking James Outman but followed that by fooling Enrique Hernandez badly for a three-pitch swinging strikeout and then retiring Gavin Lux on a flyout. Matsui could eventually ascend to higher-leverage work, but he missed much of spring training due to a back injury, so he may be still in the process of fully ramping up. For now, it looks like Robert Suarez will get the first shot to stake a claim as San Diego's closer.
Matsui struck out two batters and allowed one hit in a scoreless inning against Oakland in San Diego's Cactus League finale Wednesday.
Prior to Wednesday's outing, Matsui had been sidelined from game action since late February due to back inflammation. He resumed throwing in early March and looked good in his return to Cactus League play Wednesday, and he was included on the Padres' 31-man travel roster to Korea for the season-opening set against the Dodgers that begins Wednesday. Per MLB.com, Matsui is expected to be ready for the Seoul Series, though he may be working in a setup role behind presumed closer Robert Suarez.
Matsui (back) will pitch in the Padres' Cactus League finale against the A's on Wednesday, MLB.com reports.
Back tightness cost Matsui several weeks of his first major-league spring training after he signed a five-year, $28 million contract with the Padres in December. However, the lefty made it through an intrasquad game over the weekend and his imminent return to exhibition play bodes well for his chances of making the trip to South Korea for the Seoul Series against the Dodgers. Matsui was a top closer in Japan and could eventually find his way into the ninth inning, though MLB.com is projecting him to to open the season as one of the team's primary setup men.
