Steven Matz's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

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.