Coming off their most improbable win of the season on Tuesday night against the Nationals, the Mets are now faced with the question of when will Matt Harvey return?
Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras, wants Harvey to throw no more than 180 innings on the season. However, he has already thrown 171.2 innings.
After the Mets thrilling 8-7 come from behind victory, they now have a 6 game lead in the division with 24 games left to play. The Mets are looking to clinch their first playoff birth since 2006.
The 7th overall pick of the 2010 draft out of North Carolina has had a roller-coaster season going 12-7 with a 2.88 ERA. He struggled in his last start on Tuesday evening giving up 7 earned runs over 5.1 innings. It was Harvey’s second shortest start of the season. The 7 earned runs are tied for the most he has given up all season.
The Mets have no shortage of starting pitching. With young guns Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz already penciled into the rotation along with veterans Jonathon Niese and Bartolo Colon the Mets have one of the most talented and deepest rotations in baseball.
However, Matt Harvey has got to pitch down the stretch for this ball club. I do not care about innings limits or the fact that he is coming off of Tommy John surgery. If Harvey is healthy he should be pitching every fifth day.
The reason why the Mets acquired guys like Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Uribe, Tyler Clippard, etc is because they are going for it this year. There is a different feeling about this team.
If Harvey wants his blockbuster $200 million dollar deal when he becomes a free agent in 2019 he has to pitch in October. If Boras and Harvey decide it is best for Matt to sit out the postseason, I would certainly think about trading him this offseason.
There is still a lot of baseball left to be played, but when the calendar turns to October, I think we will see the Dark Knight on the hill for the Amazins.