Regardless, the Mets’ season just changed, and so did Matt Harvey’s career path, and it wasn’t supposed to go like this.
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Mets starter Matt Harvey has opted for season-ending surgery to correct a Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) injury, the team announced Friday afternoon.
Asked whether Harvey’s much-discussed 2015 workload could have contributed to this condition, Boras said, “Obviously, Matt is medically different in ’16 than in ’15, I can’t draw any conclusions any other than that”.
This is just bad news for Harvey as we just don’t know what will happen.
“We’ll evaluate it, but right now he’d be the guy we would lean toward”, NY manager Terry Collins said. You expected, at some point, that he would turn the corner and pitch like the ace we all know he can be. Subsequent testing revealed symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition that results from excess pressure on the nerves or blood vessels between the rib cage and collarbone that can cause pain in the shoulder and neck.
Harvey is headed to St. Louis to visit vascular specialist Dr. Robert Thompson, the Mets said.
Surgery would require at least a four-month recovery, while a block would be a temporary fix, Alderson said.
Thompson would likely perform the procedure, the GM added. This list includes Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia and Chris Young.
“I do believe that surgery is probably inevitable and more a question of timing than anything else”, Alderson told the assembled press. “I have not talked to Matt, so I can’t confirm which option he’s going to pursue”. Harvey finished 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA spanning 17 starts and allowed 111 hits in 92 2/3 innings while striking out just 76 batters. Harvey hasn’t decided which route he will take.
Verrett, 26, will start in place of Harvey on Saturday against the Washington Nationals, with an opportunity to earn a permanent spot in the rotation.
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“We’ll take a look at what’s there”, Alderson said. “Logan’s got some big shoes to fill”. And while there’s still no timetable for his return, the expectation has always been that he would be back in time for a postseason push.
