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Mets Expected To Modify Matt Harvey’s Workload

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9:29pm: GM Sandy Alderson has responded to the USA Today story, as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports (Twitter links). “Any plans we have for the rest of the regular season are tentative,” said Alderson. He went on to throw doubt on the notion of a settled strategy for the postseason, saying: “We have not spent any time yet on a ’playoff’ plan. Nothing has been discussed in that regard.”

9:24pm: The Mets have arrived at a plan to limit righty Matt Harvey’s innings down the stretch and into the postseason, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. GM Sandy Alderson indicated this morning that he and agent Scott Boras were working toward a compromise, as Harvey himself recently said would be the case.

The resolution, it appears, will be for Harvey to start tomorrow against the Nationals and then just make one more regular season start in a bid to keep him to about 182 or 183 regular season frames. He’ll only start in the season’s final week against Washington if the division is still at stake, per the report.

Most interesting, perhaps, is that the roadmap would call for Harvey to start only once per playoff series. Notably, also, the 26-year-old would potentially be placed on a roughly 60-pitch cap for his post-season outings.

In terms of on-field impact, it’s hard to downplay the significance of this modified usage. While New York now holds a commanding five-game lead in the NL East after gutting out a win today, and remains in the driver’s seat, the October limitations seem rather limiting. The Mets will also be looking to manage the workload of rising youngster Noah Syndergaard, and he or another pitcher could theoretically be paired with Harvey at times, but it would obviously be preferable — from a near-term competitive perspective — for the team to turn loose one of the game’s most potent arms without restriction.

From a transactional perspective, agreement between the sides would presumably help to ameliorate any bad feelings about the highly-publicized situation. Harvey is eligible for arbitration for the first time net year and is on track to hit the open market after the 2018 season. With the free-agency-oriented Boras as his agent, it’s long been expected that he would not seriously entertain extension talks, and some have speculated that the apparent discord could lead to a trade. There is little sense, really, in attempting to forecast the long-term relationship, but any compromise would at least appear likely to defuse serious future discord.

NL East Links: Harvey, Ross, Marlins

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In a self-penned piece for The Players’ Tribune, Matt Harvey tried to settle the innings-limit controversy of the last few days by firmly stating that he intends to pitch in the postseason:

“As an athlete, when your surgeon explains to you the risks of exceeding a certain number of innings, it can be alarming. You listen. I love to play baseball and I love winning even more. I would not give that up for anything. I also know I want to be able to play and win for a long time. But there has never been a doubt in my mind: I will pitch in the playoffs. I will be healthy, active and ready to go.

I am communicating with my agent, my doctor, Sandy [Alderson] and the entire Mets organization. I can assure everyone that we’re all on the same page.

Together, we are coming up with a plan to reach an innings limit during the season. It will be a compromise between the doctors and the Mets organization to get me, and the team, to where we need to be for our postseason run.”

Here’s some more from around the NL East…

  • In other innings-limit news, Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters (including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post) that the team will consider shutting rookie right-hander Joe Ross down for the season.  Ross lasted just 4 1/3 innings in today’s start and both he and Williams admitted that fatigue may have played a role.  Ross has thrown 149 2/3 innings between the majors and minors this season, well beyond his previous professional season high of 122 1/3 IP in 2013.
  • Several Marlins players have expressed displeasure about team management to friends and within the clubhouse, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.  The Marlins’ decision to trade veterans for prospects, GM-turned-manager Dan Jennings’ in-game decisions and the overall belief that Miami “still prioritizes saving money over winning” are three of the players’ main issues.
  • Also from Jackson, he notes that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has been listening to assistant GM Mike Berger, director of pro scouting Jeff McAvoy and others more than he’s been listening to Jennings.  There has been a lot of speculation about what changes are coming to Miami’s baseball operations crew, including whether Jennings will return as GM, take another front office role or perhaps part ways with the team altogether.
  • A.J. Pierzynski has enjoyed playing for the Braves and hopes to return in 2016, he tells MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.  The veteran catcher will be a free agent this winter, and while Atlanta has Christian Bethancourt as its prospective catcher of the future, there have been signs that the club isn’t satisfied with Bethancourt’s development.  There were reports last month that the Braves were also interested in bringing Pierzynski back for another season.  Pierzynski signed a one-year, $2MM deal with Atlanta last winter and has already earned an extra $400K via playing-time bonuses, Bowman notes.

Injury Notes: Harvey, Stanton, Pedroia, Aoki, Susac, Sanchez, Feldman

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The still-brewing shutdown controversy between Matt Harvey and the Mets still has an uncertain conclusion, but there are plenty of incremental updates to share. Noted Tommy John expert Neal ElAttrache, who is said to have consulted with agent Scott Boras on Harvey, spoke about the matter with Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. He explained that there could be a reasonable path for Harvey to throw in the postseason by “spacing out his starts and keeping his arm live, using him if necessary in September to keep him competitive and save some bullets for the postseason.” But ElAttrache also noted that even 180 innings pitched “does start to raise some flags, because now he’s in no man’s land” in comparison to past pitchers recovering from a TJ procedure. Boras, meanwhile, said that both the team and the player want him to continue throwing, and that his concern “is that the medical experts are involved in the process of determining what Matt Harvey can do.”

Here’s more on Harvey and some other injury situations around the game:

  • It remains unclear where things will go from here, but one Mets official indicated to ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin that the team strongly expects to utilize its righty in October (Twitter link). Mike Puma of the New York Post adds on Twitter that Harvey “didn’t anticipate the backlash” and “might have a few second thoughts about his comments” from yesterday. Meanwhile, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Insider link) are among those who have suggested that the current situation could — and, perhaps, should — provide impetus for the team to trade Harvey over the coming winter.
  • Marlins star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton acknowledges that there’s a chance he won’t return this year, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. Stanton, who is still trying to work back from a broken hamate bone, is still holding out hopes of a return, and at worst should certainly be at full speed next spring.
  • Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox, meanwhile, could play as soon as Tuesday, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. The veteran second baseman has been working back from a hamstring injury.
  • Giants outfielder Nori Aoki is dealing with recurring concussion symptoms that could jeopardize his season, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports. The 33-year-old, who owns a .287/.353/.380 slash and 14 steals over 392 plate appearances on the year, has struggled to remain healthy and productive in the second half. He can be controlled through a $5.5MM club option next year, which looks to be an appealing price tag so long as he is able to recover from the injury.
  • The Giants are also going to be without promising young catcher Andrew Susac the rest of the way, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links). Susac, 25, has suffered ligament damage to his wrist which will also cost him a chance to play winter ball, though it seems he should be ready for Spring Training. It’s another blow to San Francisco’s depth as the club struggles to remain in the hunt down the stretch. Susac has seen his name come up as an acquisition target for other clubs, particularly given the presence of Buster Posey behind the dish for the Giants. The injury could take him out of such consideration for at least some time, though the team’s level of interest in dealing him has never been clear. Fellow backstop Jackson Williams has had his contract purchased, with Susac hitting the 60-day DL to clear 40-man space.
  • Fellow Giants backstop Hector Sanchez may also be out of action until 2016, as Shea tweets. The 25-year-old Sanchez has an injured ankle and hamstring.
  • The outlook for Astros righty Scott Feldman “doesn’t seem good,” according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). The 32-year-old is dealing with right shoulder inflammation, and while a recent MRI revealed no structural damage, it seems that his throwing session yesterday did not go well. Fortunately for Houston, the club has a variety of rotation options to fill in, though it certainly hurts to lose another solid arm. Houston has Feldman under contract for one more season after this one at a $8MM salary.

Matt Harvey Backs Proposed 180-Inning Limit

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7:35pm: Harvey’s agent Scott Boras conducted a study regarding Tommy John recipients similar to Harvey, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Boras looked at pitchers who never exceeded 200 innings in a season, had Tommy John surgery, then returned with a roughly 200 inning workload.

Four pitchers fit into the statistical bucket – Shaun Marcum, Josh Johnson, Jarrod Parker, and Kris Medlen. Three of them required a second Tommy John surgery while the fourth, Marcum, is quite familiar with the disabled list. Boras offers Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann as two examples who built their innings total more carefully. Obviously, both pitchers have yet to experience another elbow related injury.

To be fair, any statistician would warn against taking this case study at face value. It’s interesting that all four pitchers have experienced continual health problems, but full statistical and medical analysis would surely be needed before assessing how these findings apply to other players.

4:47pm: Yesterday, it was reported that there was friction between Matt Harvey’s agent Scott Boras and the Mets over the Mets’ plans for handling Harvey down the stretch. Boras wanted the Mets to keep Harvey, who had Tommy John surgery following the 2013 season, on a 180-inning limit. Harvey has already pitched 166 1/3 innings this year, so a 180-inning limit would severely limit the Mets’ use of Harvey in the rest of the regular season and in the playoffs. The Mets responded that they would pitch Harvey based on their own plan and would have him pitch a “reasonable” amount during the postseason.

Today the story took a surprising turn, as Harvey himself spoke up to back the 180-inning limit. Here are the details, via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter links) and the Record’s Matt Ehalt (Twitter links: 1 2 3 4). Harvey told reporters today that he would be limited to 180 innings. He refused to answer questions about the playoffs.

“I’m going to always play, but like I said, I hired Dr. [James] Andrews to do my surgery, and I hired Scott for a reason, and that’s to prolong my career and put me in the best possible position,” said Harvey, who added that the 180-inning limit came from Andrews (although Harvey was unsure whether that included the playoffs).

Via FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links), however, the Mets deny that Andrews backed a 180-inning limit. “He didn’t say 180 was the number,” says GM Sandy Alderson. “He was not categorical at all.” Rosenthal also tweets that Andrews does not prescribe strict innings limits for patients returning from Tommy John surgery.

Despite Boras’ previous comments, it’s surprising that Harvey would come out so strongly in favor of the innings limit. In early July, Harvey complained about the Mets’ six-man rotation, which would have limited his innings total this year. Some reporters, including Rosenthal (on Twitter), have suggested that Harvey might be hurting. That is, of course, speculation. But it could explain the timing of the 180-inning controversy, which might have been resolved, say, before the season, rather than in September. In any case, such a severe restriction on an impact pitcher like Harvey for the remainder of the season would have a significant effect on the Mets’ chances the rest of the way.

Latest On Matt Harvey And Mets

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We learned earlier today, in a report from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, that some disagreement has arisen between the Mets and agent Scott Boras regarding the handling of 26-year-old righty Matt Harvey. Boras claims that the club is risking an injury to Harvey, who underwent Tommy John surgery in October of 2013, by not adhering to a 180-inning limit this season. (Harvey has already thrown 166 1/3 frames on the year, and has never before exceeded 178 1/3 innings in his career.) In turn, Mets GM Sandy Alderson countered that the team does not believe a hard innings cap should apply.

There’s been plenty more back and forth in the hours since that report emerged. Here’s the latest:

  • Mets assistant GM John Ricco addressed the media, saying that the team will not shut down Harvey — who is obviously a key piece of the club’s rotation — down the stretch, as ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin was among those to report. (Rubin also reported earlier that the team would abide by this approach.) Harvey will have at least one start skipped, with the team moving to a six-man rotation, and is expected to end up with between 190 and 195 regular season innings.
  • Ricco also said that Harvey will throw a “reasonable” number of innings in the postseason, with the team monitoring how he feels as things proceed. He added that the Mets believe they have only received recommendations from doctors regarding innings totals, as opposed to firm mandates. There is a chance, per Ricco, that Harvey “could end up being shut down” in the course of the playoffs, though he said that same possibility applies to some extent “with all our pitchers.” (That last quote came courtesy of Matt Ehalt of The Record; Twitter links.)
  • Boras has made several comments to additional media outlets, including MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio links) and The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio New York 98.7 FM (audio link). While many of his comments reflect what Heyman already reported, those sources are worth a listen for those who are particularly interested in the topic.
  • According to Harvey’s representative, determining when to shut down a player under these circumstances “always should be a doctor’s decision.” Going into the year, per Boras, there was agreement on all sides that there should be limits, which “had to be defined by doctors as the season unfolded.” When the subject was addressed in August, says Boras, even the club’s own physician expressed that the advice of the surgeon — in this case, the esteemed Dr. James Andrews — should be followed.
  • The parallels to the Nationals’ shutdown of Stephen Strasburg back in 2012 are hard to ignore, of course. Boras told ESPN Radio that the Nationals never allowed the decision to reach the player, instead deciding to follow the “expert medical opinion” in that case to shut down their staff ace when he reached his specified load (and also to pitch him on regular rest over the course of the season). For the Mets to extend Harvey beyond the medical advice, says the super-agent, is an unprecedented decision that puts the righty in “unfound territory” moving forward — in part because doctors are not sure that he’ll be able to continue his usual level of performance the rest of the way.
  • There are no immediate transactional implications for this decision, aside from the fact that Harvey will have an opportunity to increase his 2016 arbitration salary, but the long-term ramifications are potentially broad. Harvey can be controlled via arbitration through 2018. With Boras as his agent, he may be unlikely to reach an extension regardless of whether this matter affects his relationship with the club in any way. (It is worth noting that, according to Boras, Harvey authorized him to discuss the matter with the media.) Any long-term health issues, of course, would potentially impact both Harvey and the club, though it is impossible to weigh that possibility at present.

Heyman’s Latest: Williams, Collins, ChiSox, Keuchel, Halos, Dietrich

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In today’s edition of his weekly Inside Baseball column, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports begins by highlighting the fact that the NL East division title race will determine the fate of Nationals manager Matt Williams and Mets manager Terry Collins. Heyman writes that while Nats GM Mike Rizzo has repeatedly backed Williams, Rizzo is something of a “chorus of one” — publicly, at least. Ownership is extremely frustrated with the team’s recent play, and Heyman points out that it may also be telling that amid multiple reports of players disliking his rigid demeanor, not one player from the Nats has stepped forward to defend Williams. Ownership has already discussed dismissing Williams, Heyman adds. Collins, on the other hand, is in line for a new contract if and when the Mets reach the postseason. Falling behind the Nats and missing the playoffs, though, would harken back to 2007’s epic collapse and almost certainly cost Collins his job. Then again, the Mets have remaining series against the Reds, Braves, Phillies and Marlins, as Heyman points out, so a collapse seems particularly unlikely.

Some other highlights from the column…

  • Jeff Samardzija and another unknown White Sox player were both claimed on the same day that the Yankees claimed David Robertson, Heyman reports. However, the Samardzija claim was, like the Robertson claim, primarily a blocking tactic. Heyman notes that while Samardzija has had a very poor contract season, scouts still love his build, athleticism and competitiveness.
  • Dallas Keuchel and the Astros have tabled extension talks until after the season, per Heyman. Houston hopes to lock its ace up on at least a four-year deal — that’d cover his arbitration years and one free agent season — though as I noted when word of discussions between the two sides broke, Keuchel’s currently slated to hit the open market heading into his age-31 season. Delaying his free agency by even one year would probably put a five-year max on the free-agent deal Keuchel could secure, as teams rarely guarantee pitchers’ age-37 seasons in long-term deals.
  • Regarding the Angels’ GM vacancy, Heyman characterizes recent interviews of internal candidates Matt Klentak and Scott Servais (both assistant GMs) as “perfunctory,” believing an outside hire to be the probably outcome. Klentak could stay on in a role similar to his own, whereas Servais is said by Heyman to be more at odds with manager Mike Scioscia. Kevin Towers, Ned Colletti and Yankees AGM Billy Eppler are all listed as speculative candidates by Heyman.
  • The Dodgers took on about $150K of the remaining $450K on Justin Ruggiano’s salary when they acquired him from the Mariners.
  • The Marlins are coming around on the idea of Derek Dietrich as a Ben Zobrist/Josh Harrison type of player that can play everyday in part due to his versatility. While Dietrich’s defense isn’t on the same level as that highly valuable duo, the Marlins see him as an athletic bat with 25-homer upside. The 26-year-old Dietrich is hitting .263/.359/.514 in spite of a cavernous home park (138 OPS+) and has smashed 10 homers in 64 games while seeing time at first base, third base and in the corner outfield. None of those are even his natural position, but he’s blocked at second base by Dee Gordon, of course.

New York Notes: Teixeira, Harvey, Bullpens

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The Yankees and Mets are both firmly in the playoff picture, with the Yanks currently occupying a Wild Card spot and the Mets holding a six-game lead over the Nationals in the NL East. Here’s the latest on each club…

  • Though the Yankees had to put Mark Teixeira on the DL and will be without him for a week, the team isn’t planning to pursue any outside help at first base, GM Brian Cashman tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Astros slugger Chris Carter and the Marlins’ Casey McGehee have cleared waivers, Sherman reports, and while neither wouldn’t be eligible for the postseason roster if acquired, either could pair with Greg Bird at first base in Teixeira’s absence. However, Cashman doesn’t think the Yankees can find a definitive improvement over their internal options, suggesting that he doesn’t think too highly of either right-handed corner option mentioned by Sherman.
  • Agent Scott Boras feels that the Mets are putting Matt Harvey in danger by not strictly adhering to Dr. James Andrews’ recommended limit of 180 innings. “Any club that chooses to defy a surgeon’s wishes is putting the player in peril,” Boras tells CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. GM Sandy Alderson contends that he’s consulted with doctors all year and considered any innings limit placed on Harvey to be “soft” in nature. Boras disagrees: “Expert opinion by medical practitioners is not a soft number. There are no soft numbers. These are medical practitioners providing opinions about when a pitcher is at risk, and when a pitcher isn’t at risk.” The Mets plan to skip one of Harvey’s starts in advance of the playoffs, but the righty has still totaled 166 1/3 innings this season, so he’s on pace to pitch far more than 180, especially if the Mets make a deep postseason run. In that scenario, Alderson said that Harvey would be monitored on a “case by case” basis.
  • Bullpen workload is a challenge for both Joe Girardi and Terry Collins down the stretch, writes the Post’s Ken Davidoff. Each skipper has a pair of late-inning weapons (Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances for Girardi; Jeurys Familia and Tyler Clippard for Collins), but each has had a heavy workload that will need to be monitored heading into October. As Davidoff notes, the presence of Clippard has been a godsend for the Mets, who had hoped to rely on a quartet of power arms — Vic Black, Bobby Parnell, Jenrry Mejia and Familia — only to see all but Familia work their way out of the team’s late-inning plans in one way or another.

NL East Notes: Brown, Nats, Black, Murphy

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Domonic Brown’s career with the Phillies may be over, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Brown tumbled over the right field wall while trying to make a catch in last night’s game and exited the contest to be tested for concussion symptoms. He’s not traveling with the team to Boston and will instead meet with a specialist today. Brown has had concussions in the past, and if he’s determined to have one now, it could spell the end of his season and his Phillies tenure alike, as the 28-year-old former top prospect is due a raise on his $2.5MM salary this winter via the arbitration process. Brown is batting .228/.284/.349 in 63 games this season and hasn’t produced since a May surge back in 2013 that led him to an All-Star berth.

Here’s more from the NL East…

  • The Nationals added another pair of arms to a beleaguered bullpen by calling up Matt Grace and Rafael Martin, and James Wagner of the Washington Post writes that additional arms, including A.J. Cole, could be on the way. The Nats could’ve used the extra bullpen help earlier this week, but GM Mike Rizzo explained to Wagner that the team felt OK about its bullpen depth, not expecting Joe Ross to last just 2 2/3 innings in the shortest start of his career.
  • Right-hander Vic Black will be a minor league free agent this offseason after being outrighted by the Mets, but the hard-throwing reliever told NJ.com’s Mike Vorkunov that he hopes to return to the Mets. Black, 27, has been slowed by injuries this season but entered the year expected to be a big contributor in the bullpen. He’s planning to pitch in winter ball to make up for some of the lost innings from 2015. Black admits that his emotions have ranged “from angry to confused to frustrated to bewildered” but says he can’t imagine playing elsewhere: “I love the guys, I love the city and I certainly don’t want to go anywhere else. … Loyalty is a big part of who I am.”
  • Daniel Murphy exited the Mets’ Wednesday contest due to quadriceps discomfort and won’t travel with the team to Miami for its weekend series, writes MLB.com’s Jamal Collier. He’ll be examined by a specialist on today’s off-day, though the team, for now, is calling the move precautionary.

Mets Outright Vic Black

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Right-hander Vic Black has been outrighted off the 40-man roster by the Mets, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Black, one of two players acquired in the Marlon Byrd/John Buck trade of August 2013 (the other was Dilson Herrera), was expected to be a big part of the Mets’ bullpen in 2015 and beyond. However, shoulder tendinitis and a groin injury have kept him from the Majors this season and limited him to 22 2/3 innings at the minor league level. Black has appeared at three minor league levels this season, working to a 6.40 ERA with 30 strikeouts against 28 walks in 32 1/3 innings.

The thought of Black clearing waivers would’ve been far-fetched even a few months ago, but he passed through outright waivers and now will qualify as a six-year minor league free agent at season’s end. Black did log 34 2/3 solid innings with the Mets in 2014, compiling a 2.60 ERA with 32 strikeouts and 19 walks, so he has some big league success under his belt, which could increase his appeal to clubs despite his injury-marred 2015 season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/1/15

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Mets have outrighted infielder Danny Muno, the club announced (via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, on Twitter). His 40-man spot was needed for the activation of outfielder Eric Young Jr., which is expected today. Muno, 26, managed just four base hits and four walks in his first 32 big league plate appearances this season. He has played exclusively at Triple-A otherwise over the past two seasons, slashing a cumulative .274/.374/.408 in 723 turns at bat.
  • Outfielder Jose Constanza, meanwhile, has signed a minor league deal with the Rays, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Constanza, who turns 32 today, had a nice (albeit brief) run with the 2011 Braves but saw his MLB opportunities dwindle in Atlanta over the next three years. He’s spent much of his career at the Triple-A level, registering an even .300 batting average, a sturdy .356 OBP, and rather light .350 slugging percentage in over 2,000 plate appearances. Constanza has also swiped 128 bags over that span.
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