The New York Mets have announced that Steven Matz will not make his scheduled start on Friday night vs the Phillies because of shoulder soreness. Gabriel Ynoa will get the start in his place.
It now appears that Matz is out for the season. Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman will both likely pitch in a division series if the Mets get that far, as Ynoa continues in rotation to run out the rest of the regular season.
The Mets will wait to see what’s next for Matz, the hope being that he doesn’t need shoulder surger in addition to elbow surgery to remove bone spurs.
Another big blow in a season full of them.
Previous Report – Sep 21
Steven Matz is lined up to make the start on Friday against the Phillies after throwing a bullpen session earlier today according to Anthony DiComo. He will be on a cap of around 50 pitches in what would be his first outing since August 14th.
Original Report – Sep 20
Steven Matz will throw a bullpen session at Citi Field on Wednesday, after which both Terry Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen will decide if he is ready to rejoin the rotation and start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
Terry Collins said that he would like Matz to throw his bullpen in New York, instead of in Port St. Lucie, so they can can better evaluate him.
If Matz is cleared to start on Friday, he will be limited to just 40-50 pitches according to Collins. “He’s not ready to go real far,” Collins admitted.
Matz, 25, has been on the disabled list since mid-August with a shoulder impingement. He threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Saturday and reported no issues afterward.
Matz has not pitched in a game since August 14, and in addition to a shoulder impingement he has a large bone spur in his elbow that will require surgery in the offseason.
In his first full season in the majors, Matz is 9-8 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 22 starts for the Mets.
