The Twins announced that right-hander Zebby Matthews has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 5) due to a strain in Matthews’ throwing shoulder. In the corresponding move, Minnesota activated left-hander Danny Coulombe from the 15-day IL.
The unwelcome news on Matthews come out of nowhere, as there wasn’t any indication that the 25-year-old was hurting coming off his best start of the season. Matthews limited the A’s to one run on four hits and three walks over five innings in the Twins’ 6-1 victory on June 4. Even that solid outing lowered Matthews’ ERA to only 5.21 over 19 total innings this season, though advanced metrics (such as a 3.31 SIERA, 30.1% strikeout rate, and a .375 BABIP) indicate that Matthews has deserved better than his inflated ERA.
It looked like Matthews had performed well enough to keep his spot in the Twins’ rotation, though Pablo Lopez’s extended absence might have gotten Matthews more starts out of sheer necessity. With Matthews himself now out of action, the Twins will have to dig deeper into their depth chart to cover two rotation spots. David Festa had been installed into Lopez’s place, and Simeon Woods Richardson will likely be recalled from Triple-A to take over for Matthews.
Neither Festa or Woods Richardson have pitched well this season, so there will be even more pressure on Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Chris Paddack to continue carrying the rotation. It is fair to wonder if Minnesota might look to the waiver wire or try to swing a low-level trade to add some veteran depth to the pitching mix, though adding a more prominent arm on the trade market isn’t likely to become a reality until closer to the deadline.
More to come…