The news on Red Sox pitching prospect Bryan Mata was not good. Not the worst it could have been, mind you; but not good, either.
Mata, who experienced discomfort in his triceps earlier this week, underwent an MRI which revealed a slight tear in his UCL. For now, Mata does not require surgery, or a Tommy John procedure, but that can't be ruled out going forward either.
The Sox have elected to try to treat him with rest and a rehab program.
"We're going to shut him down,'' announced Alex Cora. "The way we're going to go with him is going to be treatment. The doctors feel it's small enough that with treatment, he should be fine. Obviously, it's going to take some time. There's no timetable. There's going to be a few checkpoints throughout the process and if he's disciplined and follows everything that we (want) him to do, he should be able to come back.
"But like I said -- no timetables. He's very important to us. It's a tough one, but at the same time, we do believe that he's going to bounce back and he's going to be OK.''
For an organization that has failed to develop any starting pitchers of note over the past decade, Mata is regarded by many as the top pitching prospect. SoxProspects.com had him as the top pitcher and third-best overall prospect in the system. He would have started the 2020 minor league season in either Double-A or Triple-A and there was the expectation that perhaps he could graduate to the big leagues in the second half of this season.
"We have to be patient and see how he reacts," said Cora. "When you start talking about the UCL, obviously it's something we don't feel comfortable with. He's young enough and probably everything is going fast for him right now. But he's mature enough to understand that these things happen over the course of your career. It's an obstacle in his career, but we do feel he's going to bounce back and he's going to be OK.''
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