Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz has been diagnosed with a serratus strain--which is basically a lower back injury--and manager Buck Showalter told reporters that the reliever would be headed to the disabled list if this were the regular season.
Luckily for Matusz the regular season doesn’t begin for a month, although clearly his status for Opening Day is very much in doubt.
After struggling as a starter early in his career Matusz has been a key contributor to the Orioles’ bullpen since making the full-time switch to relief work in 2013, logging 152 innings with a 3.32 ERA and 159/53 K/BB ratio. Eligible for free agency after this season and making $3.9 million, the former No. 4 overall pick had been slated for a middle relief role.
