Mets All-Star pitcher Matt Harvey met with Dr. James Andrews Monday to get a second opinion on his torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in hopes of avoiding Tommy John surgery, and Tuesday reports indicated that after meeting with Dr. Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. , Harvey decided to try and continue to rehab his arm for another month or two instead of undergo the operation right away.
ESPN reports that Harvey, 24, has opted to try to rehab his way back from the injury, but if he tests out the arm and it isn't healthy enough, he could still opt for surgery in the offseason, which would wipeout his entire 2014 season at that point. After a month or two, Harvey will throw to test whether or not the arm is good to go.
Mets team doctors diagnosed Harvey with the torn UCL Aug. 26, just two days after he felt discomfort in his arm while pitching against the Detroit Tigers. The decision was then made for Harvey to be shut down for the rest of the season and the Mets hoped that they hadn't lost him for 2014 too, but general manager Sandy Alderson also said the team would definitely be prepared to work around the Harvey injury this offseason to still make the team competitive for next year.
Harvey was enjoying a great first full season with New York. He was 9-5 through 26 starts with 178.1 innings pitched and had a 2.27 ERA, a .931 WHIP and 191 strikeouts before going down with the injury. Harvey started for the National League in the All-Star game at Citi Field last July.
Harvey expressed optimism after the MRI revealed the injury initially, and even took to Twitter to guarantee an April 1 return to the mound for New York.
Thank you everyone for the kind words and support. I may be done this year, but I will be back next year for April 1.
— Matt Harvey (@MattHarvey33) August 27, 2013
Alderson initially chalked up the optimism as denial for Harvey, but after the visit with Andrews it will take a couple of months to get the official verdict on the right-hander.
New York is counting on Harvey to be a key part of its future as the team hopes to be competitive next year and make the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The Mets are 67-82 on the year, but Harvey's promising campaign brought them a little bit of hope for a brighter future until the injury began to dim it down a bit.
For now, Harvey will continue to rehab but in two months' time it will be known whether or not he should have just gotten the surgery out of the way earlier. Ever determined, Harvey is doing everything he can to avoid having to get surgery.
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