The Mets are in the playoffs this year. That’s thanks in a large part to their elite young pitching core, which includes young guns Matt Harvey and Jacob DeGrom as well as rookies Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. But their playoff rotation could be in trouble: Steven Matz, the newest member of the Mets’ gang of aces, is dealing with an injury. Here’s everything we know about Matz’s health.
First rumblings
On Tuesday, September 29, Matz woke up with some pain in his back. He described it as being like a crick in the neck, only in his lower back. Matz first assumed that he just slept funny. Pretty soon, though, it became clear that something worse was going on.
Matz’s next start was supposed to be in Philadelphia against the Phillies on Thursday, October 1. He was still hurting that day, and was scratched from that start. By Friday, the Mets were back at home and Matz was headed to the doctor to address the soreness.
“The level of concern has certainly gone up,” Sandy Alderson said at the time. If Matz couldn’t be ready by next week, there was a possibility that he’d be left off the playoff roster entirely. His NLDS start, which would come in game 4 against the Dodgers in Queens, was very much in jeopardy.
Treatment and improvement
Matz got an injection for his are back on Saturday, October 3, and Mets manager Terry Collins refused to rule him out for the NLDS in statements he made that same weekend. If Matz was ready to pitch in an instructional league game as a warm-up this week, then he could be considered for a Game 4 start in the NLDS next week, Collins said.
The instructional league game is happening on Thursday, and right now Matz seems like he’s on track. He threw a bullpen session at Citi Field on Tuesday morning and is now headed down to Florida to make the start.
The outlook
Matz’s back is “not getting better,” the tabloids cried last week. That’s true, but the fact that Matz is now throwing again is a very good sign. The Mets were as conservative as they could afford to be about this injury, and now it’s all going to come down to how Matz performs in his instructional league game.
It’s hard to say how well Matz will perform. The bullpen session in Queens proves that he’s on track, but Matz hasn’t pitched a start (even a simulated or low-pressure one) since he first noticed the injury. Having him start in the instructional league game is a smart move, but there’s really no guarantee that the outing will go well.
It seems that the decision will be made entirely on the basis of how Matz feels in his instructional league start. Given that fact, and the fact that Matz is currently on track, it seems more likely than not that Matz will pitch. That said, it’s far from a sure thing. Mets fans will be watching his Thursday start very closely.
