The New York Mets just can not catch a break these days. The team is in the middle of a tight race in the National League East and are missing key pieces like David Wright and Travis d'Arnaud. Now the team will be missing one of their prized pitching prospects for a number of weeks.
The team is shutting down left-handed pitcher Steven Matz due to a partial tear in his left lat muscle in his back. Matz had complained of a sore back after his last start and tests would later reveal the partial tear. He will be shut down for three weeks and then be re-examined after that time period.
The 24-year old was another bright young arm down in the Mets minor league system before being called up to start June 28th. In his first two major league starts he is 2-0, and in 13.2 innings the lefty has 14 strikeouts. Not only has he surpassed expectations on the mound but also has a pretty good bat. In his first game he became the first pitcher to have four RBIs in his debut. He added another RBI in his second game.
The Mets had gone to a six-man rotation when Matz was called up. Now they will go back to a five-man rotation. The Mets had looked like they could be serious contenders in the National League before going on a seven game losing streak and falling below .500. The team is now 44-42 and now in second place in the East and three games back of the Washington Nationals. Once the rookie returns from his injury the team will once again go back to the rare six-man rotation.
Manager Terry Collins will rely heavily on Matz in the future as part of the super rotation that is starting to evolve in the Big Apple. Matz will join Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Zack Wheeler as the Mets will eventually have the best rotation in the game of baseball.