New York Mets ace Matt Harvey is eager to return to the mound as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery, and if he has it his way, he’ll see action in a handful of games this season.
“Of course, I won’t do it unless I’m cleared to do it,” Harvey told Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, “but I want to pitch before the year ends. I want to make five, six, seven starts this year. I asked (the training staff), ‘If I want to come back in August, when do I need to start throwing off a mound?’ They said June 10. So that’s what we have penciled in right now. That’s the plan.
“I feel great. I don’t feel any soreness now. The ball is coming out of my hand great.”
Harvey underwent surgery on Oct. 22, and although the estimated recovery time is around a year, the 25-year-old is aiming to return just 10 months after the procedure. But Harvey isn’t rushing the process.
Harvey explained to Verducci that it’s more about looking ahead to the 2015 season and gaining some confidence heading into the offseason.
“I just want the peace of mind,” he said. “I want to go back out there and know I still have the stuff to strike out major league hitters. And I want to know that when I shut it down at the end of the year, I’m just like everybody else shutting it down. I don’t want to go through all this work and wonder all winter where I am. I want to be just like everybody else when this season ends and the next one starts.”
