Rays Place Struggling Pitcher Steven Matz on Injured List

The Tampa Bay Rays have placed their struggling pitcher Steven Matz on the injured list.

Jun 7, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Steven Matz (32) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the seventh inning at loanDepot Park. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

As the Tampa Bay Rays try to break out of the rut that they have been in for the last several weeks, they will be seeking to do so without one of their pitchers. 

Following their ridiculous start to the season, the Rays have cooled off a bit and are coming back to earth. This is still a team that should be viewed as a contender in the American League following a hot start to the season, but there are some concerns about how they have performed of late. 

On Thursday, they will be seeking to win a series against the Kansas City Royals, which feels like an important one for the team to get to build some momentum. However, before the start of the series finale, the team announced that left-handed pitcher Steven Matz would be heading to the injured list with an ankle sprain. Furthermore, coming up to take his spot in the bullpen will be right-handed pitcher Michael Grove. 

Matz Heads to IL

The Tampa Bay Rays have placed LHP Steven Matz (left ankle sprain) on the 15-day IL (retro June 24) and recalled RHP Michael Grove from Triple-A Durham.

— Rays Communications (@RaysPR) June 25, 2026

This will be the second time this season that Matz has hit the injured list for Tampa Bay, and the decision to sign him has quickly become a regrettable one for the franchise. To start the campaign, the southpaw was pitching very well in the starting rotation, and it appeared that the Rays had struck gold. 

However, there has been some serious regression along with a trip to the injured list since the start, and now Matz’s campaign has come off the rails. Due to his struggles, the Rays wisely moved him back to the bullpen. In 2025, he was very effective coming on in relief. Unfortunately, that has not been the case for Matz either since the move, and there has to be some concern about how he is going to contribute going forward. 

So far this season, he has totaled a (4-4) record and 6.28 ERA. The numbers are clearly not good for the left-hander, and perhaps some time on the injured list might be a good thing to reset a bit. 

Due to his struggles, there is a need in the rotation for Tampa Bay, and that will have to be something that they address before the trade deadline. The Rays are a team that should have an aggressive mindset for the next couple of months, and improving in this area makes sense. For Matz, hopefully, some time off will allow him to not only get healthy but also work on some things to come back and be better.