Just a couple of months after talk of an innings limit for New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey created a media firestorm, his agent, Scott Boras, insisted it was blown out of proportion Wednesday.
Back in September, Boras made it clear that Dr. James Andrews had suggested that Harvey not throw more than 180 innings in 2015 following his return from Tommy John surgery. According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, he then suggested on SiriusXM that exceeding 180 innings would put Harvey’s health in danger:
You know, I think that this always should be a doctor’s decision because this is about the well-being of the patient. And any club that chooses to defy a surgeon, a medical expert, you know, they are obviously putting the player in peril. That’s their decision, that’s what they feel they choose to do. I know their team doctor has been in conversation with us, and their team doctor suggested that we should follow the surgeon’s advice.
Based on Boras’ most recent comments, however, he believes the Mets ultimately made the right decision with regard to how they handled their 26-year-old ace, per Ackert:
I think there was a misunderstanding. Matt never, ever said anything about not throwing in the playoffs. He was always going to throw in the playoffs and our plan included him throwing in the playoffs. We were all baseball players, we know you pitch in the playoff. The Mets came to us and Dr. Andrews with a plan to pitch in the playoffs, it was executed and turned out well.
Harvey ended up throwing a total of 216 innings for the National League champion Mets, including his work in the postseason, which was the most ever by a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery, according to ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin.
The strategy worked out, as Harvey went 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA in the regular season along with a 3.04 ERA in four playoff spots.
Knowing that, Boras is now complimentary of the manner in which his client’s situation played out, per Ackert:
The key thing here is once it hit mid-August, everyone knew the Mets had a great opportunity of going to the playoffs and we wanted to structure a plan where he could pitch effectively. Every doctor will tell you that not only will it increase the risk (of re-injury) but his chance of effectiveness once he gets well above 200 innings is going to go way down. For Matt to perform at the level he performed, knowing what he went through, I think the Mets plan in September paid dividends for everybody.
While Harvey was largely excellent in the playoffs, it can be argued that manager Terry Collins tried to squeeze one too many innings out of him, as the decision to keep him in for the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series led to the Kansas City Royals tying and ultimately winning the championship-clinching contest.
It wasn’t an ideal end to Harvey’s season by any means, but the fact that he bounced back so well from Tommy John surgery is an encouraging sign for the Mets in 2016 and beyond.
In addition to that, it is a reminder to Boras and everyone else involved that there is no foolproof way to handle a player when he is coming off a major injury.
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