The struggling star has symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome and could require season-ending surgery to treat a serious condition that has jeopardized the career of other major league pitchers.
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General manager Sandy Alderson told reporters on Thursday that Harvey has two options – surgery or a nerve-blocking injection – in regards to thoracic outlet syndrome in his right shoulder.
Alderson told reporters on Thursday that an examination earlier in the day by vascular specialist Dr. Robert Thompson found “symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome” in the ace Major League Baseball pitcher.
Harvey was hit hard during his start against the Marlins on Monday and complained after that his shoulder was bothering him.
According to a report from Adam Rubin of ESPN on Wednesday, the New York Mets have placed starting pitcher Matt Harvey on the club’s 15-day disabled list. Logan Verrett will start in his place against the Washington Nationals on Saturday and the Mets will figure things out from there. When he returned past year, a long debate about a possible innings limit dogged Harvey and the team as NY advanced to the World Series. With a 4-10 record and an ERA of 4.86, he has been off his game all year. First will the Mets fare ok without the Dark Knight and second, if Harvey has surgery will he be okay in 2017. Verrett, 26, holds a 4.01 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and 34/22 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 innings (five starts, 18 relief appearances) this season for NY.
Manager Terry Collins said Harvey lost some feeling in the tips of his fingers.
Zack Wheeler, an 11-game victor in 2014, has hit a road bump in his recovery from 2015 Tommy John surgery, and there is no timetable for his return. Last taking the mound on July 4, he allowed 11 hits and five earned runs alongside four strikeouts over the course of just 3.2 innings of work.
“I don’t want it to sound like woe is me but woe is us”, Collins said.
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Late in the season, agent Scott Boras said doctors recommended that Harvey be limited to approximately 180 innings in his first year back.
