Steven Matz will take a big step toward returning to the Mets as he makes a rehab assignment with Class-A St. Lucie at Jupiter on Saturday.
The Mets lefthander and Stony Brook native was shut down with a partial tear in his left lat muscle after his second major-league start July 5. He was 2-0 with a 1.32 ERA in 13 2/3 career innings, allowing seven hits and two runs.
Matz also boasted a .500 batting average with three hits and five RBIs in six plate appearances.
"Well, it'll be a little more of a process," Mets manager Terry Collins said Friday of Matz's carefully laid-out path back to the majors.