Matt Harvey has already logged 178.1 innings of work this season and he is on track to make another seven starts on his current schedule. The Mets, however, have made it abundantly clear throughout this season that they will attempt to limit his workload as the end of the season draws near.
Josh Vitale of MLB.com cites a few different methods the Mets may use to achieve their goal:Collins said the Mets have looked into having Harvey back off bullpen sessions in between starts and back off his running program. The club has also talked about giving him extra days of rest where possible and even skipping him in the rotation.
“You’re trying to put people in the seats out there, and having Matt Harvey out there every five days helps us,” Collins said. “But we still know down the road, we have to keep this guy healthy.”
The Mets would love to see those Citi Field seats filled up on days Harvey starts, and they would also love it if Harvey happened to come home with some hardware during the off-season when the Baseball Writers Association of America reveals the results of the NL Cy Young balloting. Clayton Kershaw appears to be the heavy favorite, but with some of the results we have seen in recent years, one cannot take being a heavy favorite for granted. If the Mets cut into Harvey’s innings or if they simply cut his season short at some point in September, they would make his case for the award less compelling.
Harvey has a 2.27 ERA on the year and leads the league with 191 strikeouts. He has, however, started to falter lately. In his last three starts, spanning 18.2 innings, he has a 3.86 ERA while allowing 27 hits and striking out only 13 batters.