ST. PETERSBURG -- Steven Matz’s season took another twist Thursday morning when the Rays placed the left-hander on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 24) with a left ankle sprain.
The Rays called up right-handed reliever Michael Grove from Triple-A Durham as the corresponding move ahead of the finale with the Royals at Tropicana Field. Grove, who missed all of 2025 after undergoing right shoulder labrum surgery, signed with the Rays in April and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2024 National League Division Series with the Dodgers. The 29-year-old had a 2.84 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings at Durham.
Matz was in the starting rotation (4-1, 3.86 ERA) in his first seven appearances this season before going to the IL with elbow inflammation in May. He was a starter for his first three games back (0-2, 12.46 ERA), but struggles shifted him to the bullpen. Matz gave up five runs in two innings during Tuesday’s 12-5 defeat against the Royals.
“One of the positive things about having experience is I’ve been here many times throughout my career, unfortunately, but I’ve always seemed to come out of it,’’ Matz said. “This stretch has been frustrating for me. I want to be an asset to this team. It’s a great group of guys and a great team. I obviously felt really good throughout the first month-and-a-half of the season. I just want to get back to where I was.
“It’s definitely frustrating right now. I’m going to try and utilize this time because I wasn’t pitching well -- and try to get back to where it was.’’
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Matz had a sore left ankle going into Tuesday’s game.
“The last thing we want to do is put [Matz] in harm’s way, where he’s starting to make adjustments to his mechanics,’’ Cash said. “Let’s see if we can get this calmed down and go from there. I’m happy that we have [Grove]. He’ll get up here and help us in any way he can.’’