New York Mets left-handed starting pitcher Steven Matz is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a mild strain in his left shoulder that also includes inflammation in the rotator cuff.
Rob Gsellman, who was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas, will take Matz’s spot on the 25-man active Major League roster.
We’ve placed Steven Matz on the 15-Day DL retroactive to Aug. 15 and recalled Rob Gsellman from @LasVegas51s. #Mets pic.twitter.com/cBUpl3jq9T
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 22, 2016
Per a source familiar with the situation, there is no structural damage in Matz’s shoulder, meaning the trip to the 15-day disabled list could be more precautionary then anything.
Three days ago, Matz was scratched from his scheduled start versus the San Francisco Giants after taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning in his last start versus the San Diego Padres. This shoulder injury for Matz is probably the lesser of his concerns right now.
Matz, who underwent Tommy John surgery in his career, currently has “significant” bone spur in his throwing elbow that was discovered in May. As a result of having the bone spur in his elbow, Matz hasn’t been able to use one of his best pitches in his slider as much as he would like.
The young Mets lefty hurler has received several painkilling shots that have kept him pitching for multiple weeks, but it appears that it’s reached the point where the Mets and Matz have decided to shut it down for an extended period of time.
With Matz going on the disabled list, it just spells more and more bad news for the Mets. The team was able to get Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Reyes back recently, but their starting rotation is basically in shambles to this point. Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler are done for the season, and Noah Syndergaard also has a bone spur.
It now appears that the 43-year-old Bartolo Colon is New York’s most reliable pitcher outside of Syndergaard.
The 25-year-old Matz is 9-8 on the season with 3.40 earned run average and 129 strikeouts over 132.1 innings of work.
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