Mets GM Sandy Alderson recently spoke with Steve Serby of the New York Post, and talked about the state of the Mets and its players going into the 2017 season, including thoughts on right-hander Matt Harvey.
Harvey, 28 in March, is coming off a shortened season in which he pitched to a 4-10 record with a 4.86 ERA in 17 starts before going under the knife in July to resolve thoracic outlet syndrome which was causing shoulder discomfort.
Alderson says that while he has only seen Harvey pitch on video recently, he notes that he is in excellent condition and in good spirits.
He’s been working hard and has been throwing. And so from all of those indications, it appears that he’s right on track,” Alderson said. “I always caution and remind myself that we’ll know a lot more in spring training as Harvey and others progress through their throwing programs. But right now everything looks very good.”
Harvey will look to get back into 2015 form, where the pitcher recorded a 13-8 record, with a 2.71 ERA in 29 starts in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery.
“He has gone through some health issues that obviously have been some disagreements over how to address those health issues and so forth, but I think that’s largely in the past,” Alderson said. “I think he’s in a very good frame of mind.”
Harvey is arbitration eligible in 2018 and can become a free agent after the 2019 season, but Alderson says that the relationship with Harvey is very positive.
“We’re very high on him. So I think the relationship, probably better than people perceived it to be a couple of years ago, and it’s just as good now,” Alderson said.
The entirety of the fantastic Q&A between Serby and Alderson can be found here.
