New York Mets: Can Steven Matz be counted on in 2018?
New York Mets pitcher Steven Matz will undergo elbow surgery and miss the remainder of the 2017 season. How much can he be counted on in 2018?
The New York Mets off-season is going to be filled with a ton of questions and probably not a lot of answers until we see Spring Training next season. One of those quesrions will yet again be the health of not only their entire starting pitching staff but that of left-hander Steven Matz.
After struggling through multiple starts, Matz will have surgery on a nerve in his left elbow.
Mets confirm Newsday report re: Matz. He will have surgery to correct nerve issue in elbow.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) August 22, 2017
Fellow Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom had similar surgery last season and has bounced back this season. deGrom, however, hasn’t had the durability issues that Matz has had. Matz only threw 132 innings last season due to injury and will only throw 66.2 this season.
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Going into next season, every arm outside of deGrom, should he remain healthy over the next few weeks, will have health questions. The Mets did not have the depth in their rotation, nor their bullpen in order to combat all the injuries this season.
If Sandy Alderson and the Mets go into next season counting totally on the same arms they counted on this season they will more than likely suffer the same fate this year.
Alderson is trying to build up the bullpen with younger arms as his trades have shown, but they need to find a way to add some younger depth to the rotation as well.
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The Mets need to view contributions from Matz, Zack Wheeler and most likely Seth Lugo as bonuses, not certainties. Depending on how Matt Harvey does upon his return, he should be viewed in the same vein.
It’s going to be a very interesting off-season for the Mets, and Matz’s recovery is going to be a part of that. However, they can’t view him as a given and will have to plan accordingly.