Mets righty Matt Harvey has been found to have symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome, GM Sandy Alderson told reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link). Harvey is still weighing whether to have season-ending surgery now or instead to undergo a therapy for the time being. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin writes that the alternative to surgery would be a nerve-block injection, though that would merely be a temporary fix to the problem at hand. Surgery to alleviate his symptoms are inevitable, but it’s possible that he could delay the procedure until the offseason if he elects the injection route.
Harvey’s dilemma marks a continuation of injury problems that have impacted the Mets’ much-ballyhooed young rotation. Right-hander Noah Syndergaard is pitching through a minor bone spur in his right elbow, while lefty Steven Matz is currently pitching through a bone spur in his own elbow that is said to be larger than that of Syndergaard. And, of course, the Mets have been without the highly talented Zack Wheeler since 2014, as the now-26-year-old righty underwent Tommy John surgery just prior to Opening Day 2015. Notably, DiComo tweets that Wheeler isn’t an option to replace Harvey anytime in the near future, as the club has stopped providing a timetable for his return.
The 2016 season has been a struggle for Harvey, as he’s pitched to a 4.86 ERA with diminished strikeout (7.4 K/9), walk (2.4 BB/9) and ground-ball (40.8 percent) rates while also seeing a 1.5 mph dip in his fastball velocity. Those hardships come on the heels of a 2015 campaign in which his innings total was the source of a prolonged controversy. There was talk of shutting Harvey down for the year, as he had undergone his own Tommy John surgery in 2014, but he ultimately tossed a combined 216 innings between the regular season and the playoffs — the highest total ever for a pitcher in his first full season back from Tommy John. Of course, it’s not clear that last season’s workload had any direct impact on his new injury.
From a replacement standpoint, the Mets have a number of options, as can be seen on their depth chart. Logan Verrett will start this weekend in Harvey’s place and could be a rotation option alongside Syndergaard, Matz, Jacob deGrom and Bartolo Colon. Alternatively, Sean Gilmartin could make some starts for the club after enjoying a successful 2015 run as a member of the bullpen following his selection in the Rule 5 Draft (he’s been starting at Triple-A this year). Rafael Montero could again be an option, though he’s struggled tremendously in the minors this season. Right-handers Robert Gsellman and Gabriel Ynoa are in the Triple-A rotation and already on the 40-man roster. And, the Mets have also already brought Seth Lugo up to the Majors once this season and could turn to him for spot starts or long relief work if needed.
While surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome isn’t as common as Tommy John surgery, there’s no shortage of pitchers that have elected the procedure in recent years. Twins right-hander Phil Hughes had this exact surgical procedure earlier this week, and Royals righty Chris Young credits this surgery for revitalizing his career. Others that have undergone the operation include Mike Adams, Jaime Garcia, Shaun Marcum, Chris Carpenter and Josh Beckett. There are varying levels of success in the treatment, as explored by Nick Lampe of SB Nation’s Beyond the Box Score last summer.
go for surgery. ..mets ain’t going nowhere anyway…start fresh for 2017…the NY mess
I agree with you that he should get the surgery, but your “the mets ain’t going nowhere anyway”, whaaat? Did you just get in your time traveling DeLorean and arrive from 2013?? Mets are in the second wild card and chasing the Nats.
Not going nowhere, come on man.
Well, technically, if you’re not going nowhere then you are going somewhere.
The Mets are currently in a wild card spot, 4 games behind the Nats, just swept the Cubs and have a solid starting rotation even without Harvey (who has been by far their worst starter)
I’m not sure how that adds up to going nowhere. If they want to succeed, it’s better that Harvey have the surgery anyway.
Wow. You’re so creative. In reality, the team’s pretty well-positioned, especially now that the offense is heating up. And that’s not just at the big league level – Conforto, Cecchini, and Herrera could be useful pieces later in the season, and Rosario and Smith, though not due up until next year, are absolutely raking in their first taste of the high minors.
He should have the surgery. He sucks this year. Hopefully, the surgery will fix him for next year. The Mets will be fine without him this season.
SP Noah Syndergaard
SP Jacob deGrom
SP Bartolo Colón
SP Steven Matz
SP Zack Wheeler
That’s pretty good
Agree, plus you have to figure that some combo of Gilmartin/Verrett can give you similar if not slightly better production than Harvey has already given you in 2016 (obviously they don’t have the talent or potential of Harvey, just basing that statement on Matt’s lousy 2016 season).
I still don’t think Harvey will get the surgery now anyway, my bet is he waits until the offseason and goes for the temporary remedies.
What is the timetable for Wheeler’s return?
Wheeler’s recovery is way behind schedule and he hasn’t even thrown in a minor league game yet. Counting on him to step in and take Harvey’s spot is a bit premature.
Yup. Earliest is looking like August, best case.
Isringhausen/Pulsipher/Paul Wilson 2.0?
This rotation has already had vastly more success than Generation K did.
No, those guys accomplished nothing while these guys have already made it to a World Series without one of their guys (Wheeler).
Is it just me or the mets starting pitching don’t keep good health.
Yeah no one stays healthy on this team. There’s something very wrong with the strength and conditioning in this organization.
All pitchers break
Having surgery isn’t going to fix your posture.
Yikes. Just traded lucroy for him and a few others, hoping he’d be back soon. Doesn’t look to be the case
Injury prone head case
Bigpapiforever alt? Your constant trolling is just as lame as his was…
Nope. Nothing against the Mets, Yankees or any NY team. Harvey is just a mess in multiple ways. Glad he’s not on my team!!! Would not want him!
I wouldn’t want him either. He laps up the NY media when everything is going great but shuts it down and pouts when he’s struggling. You can’t have it both ways.
The mets are going to the playoffs without a doubt what are you talking about ?? @ericm25
The only negative effect of him having the surgery now would be the mets wouldn’t be able to acquire a big bat via trade because they wouldn’t be able to part with any of their proven pitchers. More of a reason to take a chance and go after the Cuban slugger.
It’s less a given now that Wilmer is raking. There’s a good chance that the Cuban guy wouldn’t be ready until mid August, anyway, since he hasn’t played pro baseball in a year and has never faced Major League pitching.