New York Mets lay out plans for Matt Harvey
By Aaron Somers
Matt Harvey‘s workload was always going to be structured carefully by the New York Mets next season, with his pending return from Tommy John surgery. It was clear that the team would somehow limit his innings, but it was unclear when – or how – they would go about doing so. The team believes they can be in contention late in the season, but GM Sandy Alderson shared some of their plans with reporters, including ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin, on Tuesday.
Harvey underwent surgery in October 2013, putting him at close to 18 months of rehab when the 2015 season gets underway. The Mets will look to hold Harvey to a “soft” innings cap, but they hope that he’ll end up in their starting rotation at the beginning and end of the year.
New York figures that they can strategically use their scheduled off days to build in some extra days off for Harvey, occasionally skipping his starts. One of the club’s minor league arms – Rafael Montero, Noah Syndergaard, Cory Mazzoni, or Steven Matz – could be called upon to make spot starts.
The Mets could also look to give Harvey some extended time off around the All Star Break, just like they did this past season with Jacob deGrom. The timing worked out well for the Mets. The down time proved beneficial. deGrom pitched well enough down the stretch to take home the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
Harvey has only made 36 starts in his career, going 12-10 with a 2.39 ERA, 0.985 WHIP, and 9.9 K/9 in 237.2 IP. He finished fourth in the NL Cy Young voting in his first full season in the major leagues, before undergoing surgery at year’s end.
Part of the Mets’ approach is likely influenced by what they watched the Washington Nationals go through in 2012. Stephen Strasburg was pitching in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and the team shut him down completely in August in the midst of a pennant race. They’d reach the playoffs but lost in the NLDS without one of their top pitchers.
The Mets believe the can contend for the postseason and want to have all of their weapons in place.