Mets LHP Steven Matz will likely have an MRI Wednesday or Thursday due to tightness in his forearm, manager Mickey Callaway said before Wednesday's game.

Matz, who allowed seven runs in 0.2 innings on Tuesday night, said after the game that he had been going through a 'dead arm' period during his last three starts.

The 27-year-old Matz had surgery on his pitching elbow last August, which was the same surgery Jacob deGrom underwent after the 2016 season.

During the surgery, Matz' ulnar nerve was moved in order to relieve discomfort. He had been pitching through significant pain at times during the 2017 season.

Matz also has a Tommy John surgery in his past, having undergone the procedure in May of 2010.

Before his ERA spiked from 3.79 to 4.35 during Tuesday night's shellacking, Matz had been putting together the most complete season of his career. He has pitched 107.2 innings so far in 2018.

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This is not just disappointing news for us and the Mets, but also for Matz, whose arm just can't seem to let him pitch a full season.

Forearm tightness is often viewed as a precursor to Tommy John surgery. However, Matz had Tommy John surgery in 2010. During the corrective surgery last summer, the repaired ulnar nerve was moved around the elbow joint to relieve repeated discomfort.

In between his Tommy John surgery and last year's nerve adjustment, Matz also missed time with a lat tear, back spasms, shoulder tightness, blisters, inflammation in his elbow, and surgery to remove a bone spur.

This most recent setback hits hardest, though, because up until now he had been on track for what would have easily been considered his breakout season.

The issue facing Matz is that, while he's young, he's not that young. And, considering his age, talent, and that he was drafted in 2009, he should have entered this season having already thrown 500 innings and made 80 starts during his career. Instead, he entered this season with just 41 starts in only 234 innings.

Typically, consistently successful left-handed starting pitchers need around 60-to-100 starts before their careers take off and their ERA remains below 4.00. More specifically, these pitchers are all around Matz's age when they hit that pivot point.

However, instead of gaining experience and learning about himself and the art of pitching the way these other lefties in the big leagues did in their early 20s, Matz has been missing starts and rehabbing from injury.

Now, as he starts to hit what should be his prime, he's still essentially a rookie, learning the game and questioning himself mentally and physically. Time may allow professional pitchers to excel in their 30s. But, time and age also make for more aches, pains, interruptions between starts and the potential for surgery, all of which Matz already routinely experiences.

Following his six-start rookie campaign in 2015, Matz collected 22 starts in 2016 and just 13 starts last season. He had been on pace to finish this season with 33 starts in roughly 170 innings with a 4.35 ERA.

The above 2018 trend would qualify as being legit mid-rotation stuff in the National League, though probably back-of-the-rotation on a contending staff.

In either case, assuming Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler do not veer off the road, a complete season from Matz would have set up the Mets and their rotation to be in a great spot heading in to next season.

Hopefully, Matz's arm pain is just regular soreness and fatigue. Hopefully he'll rest, miss one start and get back to being the pitcher he had been during the past four months.

Otherwise, if this is yet another major forcing him to miss more time, we'll have no choice but to again question whether he can realistically be counted on as part of the team's future.

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