The Braves have been dodging bullets left and right over the past week. Ronald Acuña’s MRI during the weekend came back negative, and he’s now back in the lineup after missing five straight games. Then, Tyler Matzek was placed on the IL last night and scheduled for an MRI today. Thankfully, there is no structural damage in his case either, but the Braves will be without him for at least a couple of weeks.
Matzek’s MRI showed no structural damage in his left shoulder. He will be shut down for a couple weeks before being reevaluated.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 17, 2022
Given the Injured List for pitchers now requires them to miss at least 15 days, Matzek was always unlikely to return until June. From everything I’ve heard, it sounds like he could be suffering from a case of dead arm.
The Braves utilized him as much as possible during their magical playoff run, and it resulted in a World Series. Unfortunately, that could lead to negative effects in the future, especially with a shortened Spring Training like there was this year. In reality, this is the best possible scenario. Given the plethora of options the Braves have at their disposal when it comes to the bullpen, they can afford to give Matzek as much rest as possible. Hopefully, that’s all he needs to regain his form. Because when Matzek is rolling, there are not many relievers better in baseball.
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