Arbitration Decision Looms For Matt Harvey This Week

There will be a solution on Matt Harvey‘s future as a New York Met by week’s end.

Friday, Dec. 1 is the deadline for teams to extend contracts for 2018 to players that are pre-arbitration and arbitration eligible.

The full list includes Harvey, Jeurys Familia, Jacob deGrom, Wilmer Flores, Travis d’Arnaud, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Hansel Robles.

However, Harvey is the only one who could potentially be cut loose, though it seems unlikely.

The Mets will ultimately bank on Harvey bouncing back from a career worst year that saw him pitch to a 5-7 record with a 6.70 ERA, 6.37 FIP and 1.694 WHIP in 92.2 innings.

Super agent Scott Boras said last month that he is going to put a substantial throwing program in place for Harvey this winter at his southern California sports institute.

“Matt has been blessed with a lower half that is one of the strongest we have ever seen,” Boras told the New York 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.”

A dejected Matt Harvey was relieved when his hellish season came to a close, but now he is in his walk year and will have every opportunity to make the most of it before hitting the open market.

“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 last month. “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.

“The positive is this nightmare of a season is over for me. I can look forward to a progressive offseason of getting everything back and making sure I am in good shape for spring training.”

Here is MLB Trade Rumors projections for what each eligible player will earn next season through arbitration.