New York Mets LHP Steven Matz won't be on Opening Day roster

New York Mets left-hander Steven Matz will not be ready for the start of the regular season, manager Terry Collins confirmed Wednesday.

Matz continued to experience discomfort in his pitching elbow and was sent for an MRI exam on Wednesday. He was scratched from his scheduled Grapefruit League start on Monday.

"He still feels it," Collins said. "We thought it would be important to get it looked at."

Matz, 25, underwent Tommy John surgery earlier in his career, but he was reassured by doctors earlier in the week that he has no ligament damage in the elbow.

Matz said he felt tenderness before his last outing on March 22 after giving up five runs and eight hits in four innings against the Miami Marlins. He is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in four starts this spring.

In 22 starts last year, Matz was 9-8 with a 3.40 ERA over 132 1/3 innings before being shut down in September.

With Matz's availability in doubt, Collins announced his starting rotation for the first three games of the season. Noah Syndergaard will start the opener and be following by fellow right-handers Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey.

Syndergaard went 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts) last season. The flame-throwing 24-year-old struck out 218 batters in 183 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-6 Syndergaard was 9-7 with a 3.24 ERA in his rookie season in 2015.

DeGrom, the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year, had his 2016 season curtailed due to elbow surgery to remove scar tissue in his right elbow. He posted a 7-8 mark with a 3.04 ERA in 24 appearances after winning 14 games the previous year.

Harvey also is making his way back from surgery. He went 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA in 17 starts last year before season-ending surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome in his right shoulder.

An All-Star in 2013, Harvey missed the 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He is 29-28 with a 2.94 ERA in 82 starts over four seasons.