Bryan Mata, Red Sox top pitching prospect had his MRI taken on Thursday which revealed that the Venezuelan Native had a slight tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. The Red Sox are going to try and treat the injury without surgery.

Baseball America ranks Mata as the No. 1 pitching prospect of the Red Sox, and the 4th overall prospect on the Red Sox behind Tristan Casas, Jeter Downs and Bobby Dalbec.

Mata was scheduled to pitch Wednesday but was scratched because of right triceps soreness, which was the reason for the MRI.

“Unfortunately with Bryan, he has a slight tear in his UCL,” Alex Cora said Saturday. “So we’re going to shut him down. The way we’re going to go with him is going to be treatment. The doctors and the physicians feel like it’s small enough that we think with treatment and doing that, he should be fine.”

“Obviously, it’s going to take some time. There’s no timetable. There’s going to be a few checkpoints throughout the process. And if he’s disciplined and follows everything that we are set to do, the hope is for him to come back. But like I said, no timetables. As you guys know, he’s very important for us. It’s a tough one. At the same time, we do believe he’s going to bounce back and he’s going to be okay.”