MATT HARVEY, RHP
Player Data: Age: 28, B/T: Right/Right, Free Agency: 2019
2017 Primary Stats: 19 G (18 GS), 92.2 IP, 5-7 Record, 6.70 ERA, 6.37 FIP, 1.694 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, -1.1 WAR
GRADE: D
2017 Review:
Matt Harvey will be back in 2018, despite having the worst ERA for qualifying pitchers in Mets history. It’s not all his fault though. In his tenure with the Mets, the right-hander has underwent two major procedures: Tommy John surgery and surgery to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The return from the latter is far more unpredictable and we saw the effects at the forefront over the last two seasons.
The year got off on the wrong foot for Harvey, who was suspended on May 7 for violating team rules. Harvey reportedly missed a game after partying on Cinco de Mayo. He took accountability for his actions and apologized, but landed up on the disabled list a little over a month later with a stress fracture in his scapula that required surgery. This put him on the shelf for six to eight weeks.
Former pitching coach Dan Warthen revealed that the muscles in Harvey’s pitching shoulder had atrophied after his Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery from the previous season, which had led to the starter’s early season struggles and reduced velocity. Prior to the injury, the 28-year-old was 4-3 with a 5.25 ERA in 13 starts.
Harvey returned from the disabled list on Sept. 2 against the Houston Astros and was rocked for seven runs in just two innings. His velocity was working its way back up, but his pitches remained flat and the potent ‘Stros surely took advantage.
The final month of the season, Harvey didn’t see much lasting success, finishing the year with a 6.70 ERA. Following his last start, he said he was just glad it came to an end.
“The positive is this nightmare of a season is over for me,” Harvey said. “I can look forward to a progressive offseason of getting everything back and making sure I am in good shape for spring training.
“Coming back from this process has been curveball, curveball of different feelings and different strengths,” Harvey said of the relatively unknown rehab from the surgery. “It’s new for a lot of people and something I tried to push through at times through pain and weakness. I think I just kind of put myself in a hole throughout that process.”
According to his agent, Scott Boras, Harvey will have a substantial throwing program this offseason in order to work his way back to form for next year.
“Matt has been blessed with a lower half that is one of the strongest we have ever seen,” Boras said, according to the Post. “He is an amazingly strong athlete. So, from our standpoint the clay is there to build the sculpture. His velocity is more than enough at 95 (mph) and he has a ceiling above that.
“This is about command and command does relate to conditioning and strength. What Matt went through with the TOS (thoracic outlet syndrome), he did not have the type of conditioning last offseason you do when you have normal health. He will have that chance this offseason.”
2018 Outlook:
It was weird seeing a dejected, hollow shell of the pitcher who was formerly nicknamed “The Dark Knight.” With that being said, I expect Harvey to work hard this offseason so he can return strong for his contract year.
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome is unpredictable, plain and simple. Is there a guarantee Harvey ever returns to his 2013 All-Star form or the pitcher who demanded to stay in during the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series? No, there’s not, but to think that he is what the numbers from 2017 show I just can’t buy into.
While Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom will anchor this staff, if Harvey is able to come back and be a good No. 3 or No. 4 starter, that’s even more than the Mets could ask for.
I’m rooting for Harvey and I want to see him come back with a vengeance and blow hitters away like he did in the past. He’s got one more year with us and I’d like to see him make it count. I’m sure he does, too.
