Cardinals’ Steven Matz Could Miss Remainder of 2022 Season With Torn MCL
The St. Louis Cardinals’ starting rotation received another devastating blow over the weekend, losing starter Steven Matz for potentially the rest of the season.
Matz, 31, was placed on the 15-day injured list on Sunday with a left knee sprain. But the left-hander’s injury diagnosis is far more severe than previously anticipated, as an MRI revealed he tore his MCL.
In a corresponding move, the team has recalled right-hander James Naile from triple-A Memphis. The 29-year-old has made four previous big-league appearances this season, allowing just two hits while striking out four batters across 5.1 innings.
Unfortunately, Matz sustained this MCL injury during his most recent start on July 23, which was also his first since being activated off the IL. He had missed the last two months due to a shoulder injury that required two cortisone injections.
The 6’2” hurler was forced to depart in the sixth inning after attempting to field a ground ball towards the first-base side of the mound. His knee appeared to have overextended during the play.
Matz had been pitching brilliantly prior to exiting, surrendering just two runs on three hits and one walk while recording seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Thanks to six runs of support, the former second-round selection still earned his fourth victory of 2022, which came via a 6-3 result over the Cincinnati Reds.
The former Toronto Blue Jay, who signed a four-year, $44-million contract with the Cardinals in the off-season, has been limited to just 10 starts this season. In total, he’s posted a 5.70 ERA, 3.74 xERA, 3.95 FIP and a 0.5 fWAR rating through 42.2 innings.
A season ago, the Stony Brook, New York native enjoyed an all-star-calibre performance with the Blue Jays, recording a 3.82 ERA and a career-best 2.8 fWAR rating in 29 starts.
For now, the Cardinals are expecting Matz to miss several weeks, although they remain hopeful he can return sometime later this year. But given the severity of his injury, there’s no guarantee the lefty throws again in 2022.
This latest injury couldn’t be coming at a worse time for St. Louis, as the club was already in desperate need of healthy pitchers throughout the second half. With Matz returning to the IL, three-fifths of the team’s starting rotation is currently sidelined – including Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson.
And things aren’t currently looking any better on the position-player side, either.
The Cardinals and their injury-riddled pitching staff will be without two of their top players, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, during their two-game series against the Blue Jays this week. Both players would be subject to a 14-day quarantine upon crossing the Canadian border as they’re each unvaccinated.
St. Louis will also be without catcher Austin Romine, who’s unvaccinated and will be placed on MLB’s restricted list along with Goldschmidt and Arenado before Tuesday’s series opener at the Rogers Centre.
With a 51-46 record, the Cardinals currently trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 2.5 games for first place in the NL Central, positioning them in the final wild-card seed.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: D. Benjamin Miller. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.