Just Mets

On Friday at Citi Field, Sandy Alderson and Steven Matz discussed the nature of Matz’s partially torn lat muscle, and what’s next for the rotation and the team.

• Matz says the injury doesn’t hurt – it feels like a muscle pull.
• The injury is not considered serious, although there’s no guarantee the tear in the lat will heal in three weeks.
• No matter when Matz is cleared to resume baseball activities, he will have to start a throwing program to build himself back up.
• If Matz is still symptomatic, or the muscle has not healed to the satisfaction of team doctors, Matz will remained shutdown following his three week hiatus.
• Matz threw a side session earlier this week in San Francisco, after which the Mets shut him down after he reported continued stiffness in the affected area.
• There’s no way to know when the injury was sustained – Matz might have been asymptomatic for a long while after injuring the muscle.
• In 90 percent of these cases, the muscle tear heals without further incident.
• There are no regrets by Matz or team brass for allowing Matz to make his last start against the Dodgers.
• Demoting Logan Verrett was independent to Matz’s injury, although he was told he will start with Triple-A Las Vegas while in the minor leagues.
• The Mets are weighing whether or not they’ll revert to a six-man rotation after the All-Star break. The decision could be based on availability, with Dillon Gee being a possibility to rejoin the club.