UPDATE: The Mets have announced their first three starters for the NLDS, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Jacob deGrom will start Game 1, Noah Syndergaard will start Game 2 and Matt Harvey will start Game 3.
The decision on a starter for Game 4 will be made after Matz makes a start in an instructional league game this Thursday. If he's not 100% healthy, Bartolo Colon will get the nod.
-----
The New York Mets will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, but they're unsure who their fourth starter will be because of Steven Matz's injury. In Seattle, Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano has a sports hernia.
Concerns are mounting in New York, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Matz is still dealing with back stiffness and Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters the left-hander is unlikely to pitch in the team's final games of the 2015 MLB season against the Washington Nationals.
Earlier in the week it was reported he would get work out of the bullpen after he was scratched from his starts on Wednesday and Thursday.
And now Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports Matz received an injection on Friday to "relax the muscles in his back." The 24-year-old has still not officially been named the team's No. 4 starter for the NLDS and they plan to hold off on making such an announcement until he proves he's healthy.
Essentially, Collins says Matz needs to prove he can throw 90-100 pitches by the middle of next week, even if in sim game, to be NLDS-ready.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 3, 2015
General manager Sandy Alderson said Matz's injury "hasn't seemed to get better" and that the "concern level has certainly gone up." As a result, Rubin says "the momentum seems to be accelerating for Bartolo Colon" to pitch in the postseason rotation over Matz.
However, Matz has until Friday to get 100% healthy. He's 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA in six starts this season.
As for the Mariners, they won't make the playoffs and their star player is expected to undergo surgery after the season. According to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, Robinson Cano has a sports hernia and will undergo surgery on Oct. 13. There is an expected six-week recovery timetable for the 32-year-old.
Divish also mentioned the Mariners knew this was a possibility earlier in the week and ran tests on Cano to ensure that was the case. He has been playing through the injury since mid-July, says Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
Manager Lloyd McClenson said it's possible Cano rests during the final weekend of the 2015 season. He played last night against the Oakland Athletics and reached base safely for the 23rd consecutive game.
Cano is batting .286/.333/.442 with 80 runs scored, 20 home runs and 76 RBIs in 154 games this year.
