St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Steven Matz (back) has been transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list on Friday. This news comes just two days away from Matz being eligible to come off the injured list. He recently had a setback with a strained back, so it looks like the southpaw is going to need a little more time. The 33-year-old probably won't be back in the rotation until late July at the earliest. Matz wasn't pitching well before the injury, so fantasy managers should be able to find a better option. It's worth noting that right-hander Gordon Graceffo has been recalled. He could be an option to fill in for Matz, but fantasy managers can use a wait-and-see approach here.
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz (back) has suffered a setback in his rehab process and will be shut down for at least two weeks. He will essentially be forced to restart his throwing progression. The veteran woke up feeling tightness after his latest rehab start in which he tossed three-plus scoreless innings on June 16. Matz has been on the 15-day injured list with low back soreness and has not appeared with the Cards since April 30. It's been a difficult season from both a health and performance standpoint for the 33-year-old who owns a 6.18 ERA across six big-league starts, striking out just 13.4% of the hitters he has faced. Add in an 8.7% BB% and Matz's 4.7% K-BB% is a career-low, albeit in a small sample size. He remains off the fantasy radar for the time being.
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz (back) played catch off the mound at Busch Stadium on Friday, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Matz will throw at a much higher intensity on Monday. Matz is dealing with a protruding disc in his lower back and was placed on the 15-day injured list a week ago with a lower-back strain. Given the severity of the 32-year-old veteran southpaw's injury, fantasy managers in deeper leagues shouldn't be expecting Matz to return when he's eligible to come off the IL. In addition to Matz's pretty serious injury, he wasn't good in his six starts before getting hurt, going 1-2 with a 6.18 ERA and 1.73 WHIP with only 17 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings. Matz probably isn't worth holding onto in shallow-mixed fantasy leagues at this point.
St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said that an MRI exam showed a "protruding disc" in left-hander Steven Matz's lower back. He received a pain-killing injection and will be re-evaluated early next week after being placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday. Matz was pitching through lower-back pain in his outing on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers and is now most certainly going to miss more than two weeks. On top of it, the 32-year-old veteran southpaw has opened his third year in St. Louis with a 1-2 record, a bloated 6.18 ERA (4.73 FIP), 1.73 WHIP, 11 walks and 17 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings over his first six starts. In shallow mixed leagues, Matz isn't a must-hold, especially given the nature of his injury, if you have bigger needs on your roster.
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz (back) was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to May 1) on Friday with a lower-back strain. In a corresponding move, right-hander Kyle Leahy was recalled from Triple-A Memphis. It's unclear how long it will take the 32-year-old veteran southpaw to return, but fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised if he's out longer than two weeks. Matz attempted to pitch through his back issue in his latest start on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers but wasn't effective. He's opened the year 1-2 with a bloated 6.18 ERA and 1.73 WHIP with only 17 strikeouts and 11 walks in 27 2/3 innings over six starts for the Cardinals. Matz isn't a must-hold in deep-mixed leagues, especially if he's out longer than two weeks. It's unclear who might take his rotation spot in St. Louis.
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz (back) is set to undergo an MRI exam on Thursday after pitching through a back issue on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday. Matz went just 3 1/3 innings against Detroit on Tuesday and allowed seven hits (one home run) and four earned runs while walking two and striking out only one. The Cardinals will wait for the results of the MRI before deciding what to do next with the 32-year-old veteran southpaw. Fantasy managers that have Matz rostered in deeper leagues should prepare for the possibility that he will go on the injured list. After his poor start on Tuesday, he's now 1-2 on the year with a 6.18 ERA and 1.73 WHIP while striking 17 in 27 2/3 frames over his first six starts in 2024.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Steven Matz got rocked in Tuesday's loss versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. The left-hander tossed 4 1/3 innings and got hit hard for six hits, seven runs and three walks. He also had four strikeouts on the evening. Matz has really struggled to open the 2024 campaign and has allowed 16 runs (13 earned runs) over his last three outings. He has also failed to get past 5 1/3 innings on the season. Matz has a lot that needs to be figured out and can be avoided in all formats, even with a favorable matchup against the Detroit Tigers to begin next week.
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz is one of two starting pitchers for the team who have yet to pitch in a Grapefruit League game, but Matz is going to make his spring training debut on Monday and throw an inning after starter Sonny Gray. Given Matz's extensive injury history over his first two years with the team, the Cardinals felt it best to take it slow with Matz's spring progression this year. He made 15 starts in 2022 due to a shoulder injury and a torn MCL, and a lat strain ended his 2023 season early. But before his lat strain, the veteran southpaw had a 1.86 ERA over seven starts, his best stretch with the Cardinals since joining them before the 2022 season. The 32-year-old will begin the year in the Opening Day rotation, but fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to provide much length, at least early on.
St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz (lat) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday on the first day that pitchers and catchers reported to spring training. It's notable after Matz threw only 105 innings in his second year in St. Louis in 2023 because he was shut down in August due to a lat injury. The 32-year-old veteran southpaw posted a 3.86 ERA (3.75 FIP) and 1.33 WHIP while walking 32 and striking out 98 in his 25 appearances (17 starts). Matz was better last year than he was in 2022 in his first year of a four-year, $44 million deal, but he still doesn't move the needle all that much for fantasy managers, mostly because of his injury risk and below-average 22.4 percent career strikeout rate. He threw only 48 innings in 2022 due to shoulder and knee injuries and will most likely miss time at some point again in 2024.
The St. Louis Cardinals have made teams interested in adding starting pitching this offseason aware that left-hander Steven Matz is available via trade, according to sources. Matz signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the Cardinals before the 2022 season. It comes after St. Louis has already added right-handers Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn to their starting rotation via free agency this offseason. The Cardinals are also interested in Japanese starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, so moving Matz would free up a spot for him. The 32-year-old southpaw was better in 2023 than he was in his first year in St. Louis, going 4-7 with a 3.86 ERA (3.75 FIP) and 1.33 WHIP with 32 walks and 98 strikeouts in 105 innings over 25 outings (17 starts).
