New York Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz’s elbow has “flared up,” and he will miss his next start Saturday against the Colorado Rockies, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reported Wednesday.
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Matz’s Elbow Not Considered Serious
Wednesday, May 11
Rubin added that Logan Verrett will take Matz’s place in the rotation unless the team needs him to come out of the bullpen in relief.
The Mets are seemingly being cautious with Matz’s elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery as a prospect back in 2010, which delayed his arrival to the major leagues.
However, the team believes that this inflammation is just soreness. He didn’t undergo an MRI and will see doctors when the team returns from its West Coast road trip, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.
The 24-year-old made his debut last season among the numerous young arms the Mets rotation boasts. In terms of winning, Matz has been the most successful Mets pitcher ever, via Baseball Tonight:
After going 4-0 in 2015, during which he helped the Mets win the National League pennant, Matz was hammered in his first start of 2016 against the Miami Marlins, allowing seven earned runs in 1.2 innings.
Since then, he’s 5-0 and has given up just four runs while striking out 34 batters in 33 innings. Matz, along with Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey, is part of a vaunted pitching staff that has led the Mets to the second-best record in the National League at 20-12 and ranks second in the majors with a 2.78 ERA.
On any other team, Verrett could be a top-end starter, as he’s been excellent for the Mets as a fill-in. In two starts this year, he’s gone a combined 12 innings with no runs allowed and 10 strikeouts. So the Mets should feel confident at least for the short term.
But Matz’s injury history, which includes a torn lat muscle that kept him out for two months last year, is concerning to a Mets team that prides itself on its young, dominant rotation.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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