Twins Scoop: Zebby Matthews Injury Details and Return Timeline Revealed

Just a couple of days after the Minnesota Twins lost Pablo Lopez to a shoulder injury, the recently recalled Zebby Matthews hit the injured list, as well. Just like that, half of the Twins starting pitchers (2/4) who took the mound last week in Sacramento against the Athletics are now on the IL.

That’s no coincidence. The field at Sutter Health Park — the A’s temporary home while they find a new city to play ing — has drawn consternation from all over the MLB for both a brutal mound and hard batter’s box; a box that forced Carlos Correa to miss three games with back pain.

According to Aaron Gleeman (The Athletic), in a recent (paid subscriber-only) episode of Gleeman and the Geek, Matthews was experiencing some level of discomfort in his shoulder going into his start.

Minnesota Twins starter Zebby Matthews injury details revealed

Rocco and the training staff opted to let Zebby — who took over for a struggling Simeon Woods Richardson — take the mound against the Athletics anyway. He paid them off with one of his best big league performances to date. Unfortunately, he and the Minnesota Twins will now pay the price.

On Sunday, Bobby Nightengale (Star Tribune) reported Matthews’ injury as a “moderate Subcapularis strain”, noting that he would need at least the rest of the month to recover.

Monday evening, a source close to the situation confirmed that the 25-year-old righty did indeed suffer a grade 2 Subcapularis strain, which will keep Zebby on the IL until well into July.

Source: Minnesota Twins pitcher Zebby Matthews underwent an MRI that revealed a Grade 2 Subscapularis Strain.

There are no current concerns regarding anything else around his shoulder.

— Ted (@tlschwerz) June 10, 2025

Zebby Matthews owns a 5.21 ERA (3.07 FIP) with a 25/8 K/BB. Alongside David Festa, Matthews is among the best pitching prospects in the system. His jump in velocity (94.9 mph in 2024 to 96.4 mph in 2025) has been a key contributor to his growth.

Related: Minnesota Twins Option Adams, Open Rotation for Simeon Woods Richardson Return

Thankfully, the MRI did not reveal any additional damage to Zebby Mathews’ arm or shoulder area and will not require surgery. That’s likely why — instead of 2-3 month, like Pablo (and Joe Ryan last year) — the Minnesota Twins are hoping their flamethrowing righty will be back some time next month.

What is a Subcapularis strain?

The subscapularis is a muscle located on the front surface of the scapula (connected to the rotator cuff), is pretty far away from where Lopez and Ryan’s injuries are/were, which is on the lower back part part of the shoulder blade.

Still, after some amateur internet research by this non-medical professional, the Minnesota Twins must feel pretty good about the finer details of Zebby Matthews’ diagnosis. Nonetheless, a Grade 2 muscle strain registers as a tear, which explains the Twins’ plans to shut him down for a couple of weeks before re-evaluating.

According to most trusted medical websites, muscle tears generally take 3-12 weeks to recover from. Of course, that is not specific to Matthews’ injury. It’s more of a general consensus, based on the comeback history of this injury.

Muscles typically heal a little quicker than other tissues as they are highly vascular receiving oxygen and other nutrients throughout the day passively and even more during activation of the specific muscle and globally.

• Grade I
  • 2 days – 4 weeks
• Grade II
  • 3 weeks- 12 weeks
• Grade III
  • 5 weeks – 24 weeks

Lake Washington Physical Therapy (lakewashingtonpt.com)