New York Mets starting pitcher Steven Matz will begin the 2017 season on the disabled list.
The New York Mets will hope to make a return to the postseason in 2017. Looking at their roster, they will be relying a bit on their rotation to do so. With Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey leading the way, the Mets will have one of the best rotations in baseball. However, they will be without starting pitcher Steven Matz, who will start the season on the disabled list. He’s been battling an elbow injury.
“Nothing’s changed over the last couple of days,” Mets’ manager Terry Collins said, via CBS Sports. “It’s just that the last two days he played catch, and he still feels it, so we thought it would be important to have him looked at.”
This is starting to get a little bit concerning. Matz saw a doctor on Wednesday March 29 and an MRI is likely. In his rookie season in 2016, he put up a 3.40 ERA in 22 starts (132 innings). Matz has a history of injuries, as he’s already had Tommy John surgery. Also, he missed starts in 2016 because of shoulder and elbow issues. Bone spurs in his elbow eventually led to his shutdown in September.
The Mets were expecting him to take a step forward in 2016. With the loss of Bartolo Colon, they were hoping he would take over his spot in the rotation. However, now the Mets have no idea when Matz will come back. They will have to rely even more heavily on their top three starting pitchers because of this. Zach Wheeler could fill in for him. He could be a great replacement, as many thought he was better than Harvey as a prospect. Injuries have cost Wheeler most of the past two seasons.