ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays placed left-hander Steven Matz on the injured list with an ankle sprain and recalled right-handed reliever Michael Grove from Triple-A Durham ahead of their series finale against the Kansas City Royals at Tropicana Field.
Matz, who had been a bright spot in the rotation early this season with a 4-1 record and 3.86 ERA through his first seven appearances, has struggled since returning from the injured list after a May stint for elbow inflammation. In three starts back, Matz went 0-2 with a 12.46 ERA, and his difficulties culminated in a five-run, two-inning outing during the Rays’ 12-5 loss to the Royals on Tuesday.
“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.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Matz had a sore left ankle going into Tuesday’s game, and the club moved him to the IL rather than risk further damage. “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.”
Matz’s struggles had already shifted him from the starting rotation to the bullpen before the ankle injury. “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,” Matz said.
Grove, 29, missed all of 2025 after undergoing right shoulder labrum surgery and signed with the Rays in April. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2024 National League Division Series with the Dodgers. At Durham, Grove posted a 2.84 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings — numbers that earned him the call to bolster a bullpen that absorbed heavy damage in Tuesday’s loss.
Grove was expected to be available immediately for the series finale against Kansas City at Tropicana Field.