Matz to DL

[Frayed Knot]

.... with "forearm strain"
This, despite an MRI revealing "no structural damage" on Thursday.

Corey Oswalt, soon to be playing at a ballpark near you.

[Lefty Specialist]

More likely neck strain from turning to see all those balls hit all over the yard.

[MFS62]

Lefty Specialist wrote: More likely neck strain from turning to see all those balls hit all over the yard.

And I thought he would pull a leg muscle automatically running to back up third every time he threw a pitch.

Later

[ashie62]

Whoop de damn de doo

[smg58]

His velocity has been down for a few starts, so the R and R will probably do him some good. I'm all for a stitch in time, especially since it's generally not our approach to things. It's not like our season is hanging in the balance or anything.

[Centerfield]

This is the right move.

I think this winter it’s important to understand Matz for what he is, and that is a serviceable back end starter.

I don’t get this myth that starting pitching is a strength for this team.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Starting pitching is a relative strength for this team. Compared to the offense, bullpen, bench depth, and team ownership, the starting pitching is the team's greatest asset (primarily due to presence of DeGrom & Syndergaard). There is very little else to get overly excited about this season or likely in the foreseeable future.

[smg58]

Right. Basically the Mets have 4 pitchers who could start for a winning team, 3 pitchers who could come out of the pen for a winning team, and 2 position players who could start full-time for a winning team (and that's assuming Conforto will be healthier after an offseason of rest than he is now). That being said, I would still be in on somebody like Patrick Corbin this offseason.

[Centerfield]

Ok. To clarify, starting pitching is the strongest aspect of this team (as opposed to the bullpen, offense, etc).

But it is not a strength as far as contending against other teams.

Our starters’ ERA is over 4.00, outside the top ten, and worse than Atlanta, Washington and Philadelphia. If we wanted to win the division, we would have to upgrade the offense and bullpen enough to make up for the starting pitching.

[smg58]

Vargas is skewing those numbers, and Harvey didn't help. Oswalt is an emergency starter whose performance has improved of late, but he's contributed to those numbers as well. The Mets won't go anywhere with a black hole in the fifth spot in the rotation, to be sure, but you can say that about at least 25 other teams in the league. Vargas has two months to show he is capable of righting the ship, but at this point I'm not optimistic.