Steven Matz to have season-ending elbow surgery

The Mets will be without Steven Matz for the remainder of the season who will undergo season-ending elbow surgery to remove a bone spur. Matz has been on the disabled list since mid-August, though attempted to rehab through what was then diagnosed as a left-shoulder impingement.

Matz was scheduled to come back and start just last Friday, but suffered a setback experiencing shoulder soreness. Now, the Mets are confirming reports from Marc Carig and Adam Rubin that Matz will undergo surgery to fix the ailment:

The existence of the bone spurs was known as far back as June 26, but the Mets and Matz were expecting to hold off on surgery until the winter. Matz’s elbow pain turned into shoulder pain, and without him able to make pitching appearances, it appears the best course of action was to go ahead with the surgery.

Rubin explained the Mets’ expectations of the surgery, which shouldn’t cut into Matz’s 2017 season:

“The Mets have estimated a three-month recovery time for the elbow procedure, so Matz should be ready for spring training. The surgery will be next week at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.”

This news comes on the heels of a series of pitching injuries for the Mets. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com summed up the Mets’ starting pitching woes with this tweet:

The Mets currently sit in the first Wild Card spot with no shot at the NL East crown. They are half of a game up on the Giants who hold the second Wild Card spot, and just one and a half up on the Cardinals who are just barely on the periphery of the Wild Card race.

With Matz out, the Mets’ postseason rotation will rely on Noah Syndergaard pitching through a bone spur, Bartolo Colon, Robert Gsellman, and Seth Lugo. While the last two have performed admirably down the stretch, the loss of Harvey, deGrom, and now Matz puts the Mets in a spot they weren’t in at the beginning of the season; boasting plenty of depth.