Matt Harvey throws live batting practice, nears return to the Mets
NEW YORK – Amid a season that has largely fallen off the rails, the New York Mets could find some solace Tuesday afternoon in right-hander Matt Harvey’s recovery practice.
Harvey threw a live batting practice at Citi Field, estimating that he threw roughly 25 pitches to warm up and another 20 at full intensity, adding that he was able to use his full arsenal of pitches.
“It was difficult playing catch a while ago,” Harvey said.” It felt like it was always an uphill battle trying to figure out how to play catch. I knew something wasn’t right at that point, but I tried to fight through it.
“We came to figure out that the shoulder was just really weak and there was a lot of nerve issues that were causing the muscles not to respond very well. The time off helped and then obviously, the strength program helped. Everything feels great now.”
It may only be a small step for Harvey and the Mets, but any good news will be welcome for the New York club that has seen three staples of their rotation go to the disabled list this year.
Harvey, of course, was placed on the 10-day DL in the middle of June with a stress injury to the scapula bone – a setback that also caused the muscles in his right shoulder to atrophy.
On top of that, right-hander Noah Syndergaard suffered a lat injury in late April that placed him on the 60-day DL and right-hander Steven Matz was unable to pitch his first game of the season until June 10.
But now, that rotation is close to being healthy once again – albeit for a team that is firmly out of playoff contention.
Still, regardless of being 16 1/2 games out of first in the National League East, Harvey said he is hoping to make a return before the season comes to a close. While he doesn’t definitively know what the next step is, he said his arm feels normal again and he expects to begin making rehab starts in the near future.
“My arm can work the way that it’s supposed to,” Harvey said. “I think the strength program that we did for the back of my shoulder, for the (scapula) area – now it’s moving the proper way. I think I was talking to (pitching coach) Dan Warthen the other day when I came back from Florida, and I said I was excited because it was finally fun to throw a baseball again.”
As for what this injury means for Harvey’s future, the Mets ace indicated that he still hasn’t received feedback on if he’ll need to alter his approach moving forward.
“It’s kind of impossible to tell at this point, but I’ve been seeing the doctors here and the progression of the size of the shoulder and the strength of the shoulder has definitely gotten to a point where they’re very happy with it,” Harvey said. “I think that comes with being able to continue throwing and do the rehab starts and get back out there, and eventually work back to 100 pitches. If they didn’t think things were going the right way back there, then I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”