Matt Harvey will officially undergo Tommy John surgery on the partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, Sandy Alderson announced on Friday. The surgery will knock him out for the entire 2014 season.
"There was a more reasoned approach to the injury," Alderson answered when asked why Harvey decided to have surgery instead of continuing the throwing program. He also said that Harvey had begun rehabbing, but not physically throwing.
Alderson and Harvey met on Friday to come up with a final conclusion.
"I felt this would be the right decision. So, in that sense, I'm happy that Matt has reached that same conclusion." Alderson said.
Alderson also mentioned that now two rotation spots are open, with Jon Niese, Zack Wheeler and Dillon Gee being the only locks in 2014. He said he would be a "little uncomfortable" with relying on his younger pitchers to fill those holes.
"It's a possibility," he said. "I don't think it's a scenario that we would prefer."
Harvey is expected to be ready to throw again in February of 2015, as pitchers generally take a full calender year to completely recover from this procedure. Dr. James Andrews will perform the surgery sometime later this month.
The 24 year old hurler posted a 2.27 ERA in 26 starts for the Mets this season. He also struck out 191 batters in 178.1 innings pitched.
This is clearly the smartest move for Harvey from a long-term standpoint. It makes sense to have him just miss the 2014 season, and not have to worry about re-tearing his elbow sometime in the future. The Mets will have to make moves to fill the void he is leaving, whether that is an in-house move or a free agent signing.
Personally, I think if they plan on contending, they should sign someone like Bronson Arroyo. I know I've mentioned Arroyo as being a pricey and risky player, but if they can somehow get his asking price down to a reasonable number, then he'd be a solid innings eater for this team next season. Also, they could try to sign someone like Phil Hughes to an incentive-based deal. Granted, I am not the biggest Hughes fan, but his home/away splits are somewhat promising, and a change of scenery would certainly benefit him. Finally, there's Josh Johnson, who I've always been tough on. He is a free agent this winter, and the Blue Jays will probably not sign him back. Due to his potential and history of success, I would imagine a string of teams are going to chase after him. However, he could be a great buy low candidate for the Mets, because he is great when on the field.
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