Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports reports that there was no structural damage found in the left elbow of Steven Matz. He recently underwent an MRI on the elbow after feeling discomfort in the area.
The left-hander is coming of the worst start of the season when he couldn’t make it out of the first inning in the Mets 25-4 loss to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.
Original Post – Aug. 1, 9:11 p.m.
After dealing with a “dead arm phase” for a couple of weeks, New York Mets left-hander Steven Matz will see a specialist and get an MRI on his left elbow and forearm region.
In Tuesday night’s 25-4 loss to Washington, the left-hander only lasted two-thirds of an inning, surrendering seven earned runs. Today, Matz said that he experienced tightness in his forearm.
From Tim Healey of Newsday, Mets’ skipper Mickey Callaway says that the team “knew about [the dead-arm phase], but the forearm discomfort was new”.
Today, Callaway alluded to the possibility of Matz being gassed due to the number of innings he’s pitched this season (107.2 innings over 21 starts 2018; his career high is 132.1 over 22 starts in 2016 due to his various health issues).
“They’re all getting up there right now. So we all have to make sure that we understand that and take every precaution necessary to keep them on the field as much as possible,” Callaway said. “Maybe he’s hitting a bit of a wall right now. We’re going to continue to check on him.”
The 27-year-old has a 4.35 ERA this season with a 1.337 WHIP, 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings, a would-be career-low 2.41 strikeouts-to-walks ratio, and an 87 ERA+.
However, the left-hander has allowed 16 runs in 11 2/3 innings (12.35 ERA) since the All-Star Break.
Matz spoke to Healey on his mindset as he navigates yet another stretch of downtime. This would be his fifth trip to the disabled list since making his MLB debut in 2015 (July 28).
“I’m just trying to work through it. It’s hard to describe. My stuff isn’t sharp like I want it to be.”
Matz has been a bit inconsistent this season, but his high points have given all parties involved hopes that the Long Island native had finally begun to figure things out.
We’ll have to wait until his MRI results come back to see if he’ll get to continue that journey soon.
