2:21PM: Matthews has been feeling some shoulder soreness for a couple of weeks, and some increased discomfort after the start on Wednesday led to the team’s decision to put him on the injured list. “It’s not something we’re too concerned with,” Matthews told the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters. “It seems to be something we can respond to, hopefully, pretty quick….It’s mainly during the last part of the throw is when I feel it. Everything else, it feels pretty good. We’re just trying to get it to loosen up and get back to feeling normal.”
9:18AM: 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. The severity of Matthews’ shoulder strain is also naturally a factor, as the urgency for pitching depth would diminish if Matthews is able to return before the end of the month.
The bullpen will at least get a boost with the return of Coulombe, who last pitched on May 14 before an extensor strain in his left forearm sent the veteran reliever to the IL. Coulombe has yet to allow an earned run over 16 2/3 innings and 19 appearances for Minnesota this season, and he has an outstanding 3.3% walk rate and 31.7% strikeout rate to go along with that spotless ERA. The Twins had been operating without a left-hander in their bullpen prior to Coulombe’s activation, as Kody Funderburk was optioned to Triple-A on Friday.
In other Twins bullpen news, Michael Tonkin restarted his minor league rehab assignment and tossed a scoreless inning for Triple-A Saint Paul last night. Tonkin has yet to pitch in the majors this season due to a mild rotator cuff strain suffered during Spring Training, and his previous rehab assignment was halted a month ago due to biceps tendinitis.