Cardinals activate LHP Steven Matz from 15-day IL

The St. Louis Cardinals activated left-hander Steven Matz off the 15-day injured list today, as Matz was slated to start the Cardinals’ game against the Cincinnati Reds before the contest was rained out. 

Matz will now have to wait until after the All-Star break to make his official return to the field, as he has been sidelined since May 22 due to a shoulder impingement. With the Cardinals in need of rotation help, a healthy and effective Matz would be a major boost to the team, as both sides must hope that this two-month absence can essentially be a restart on Matz’s season. After signing a four-year, $44M free-agent deal with St. Louis in November, Matz stumbled out of the gate with a 6.03 ERA over his first 37 1/3 innings in a Cardinals uniform.

To create room on the active roster, St. Louis placed right-hander Drew VerHagen on the 15-day IL with a right hip impingement. A similar injury sent VerHagen to the IL for a little over three weeks earlier this season, and the righty was just activated from another IL stint (due to shoulder problems) earlier this week. With all of these health issues, it perhaps isn’t surprising that VerHagen has only a 6.65 ERA over 21 2/3 innings, with walks and home runs being particular issues for the 31-year-old. VerHagen is another offseason signing for the Cards, joining the team on a two-year, $5.5M deal after spending the previous two seasons pitching in Japan.