Written by Adam Rubin at ESPN.com
New York Mets right-hander Matt Harvey successfully lobbied to make Tuesday’s start against the Washington Nationals. After another flop, Harvey now might have run out of chances to work out his kinks while remaining in the rotation.
Harvey’s ERA swelled to 6.08 after he allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings in the Mets’ 7-4 loss at Nationals Park.
Afterward, Harvey bolted from the clubhouse without speaking to reporters.
Mets manager Terry Collins acknowledged serious consideration needs to be given to at least temporarily bouncing Harvey from the rotation. A team official said it was premature to know whether Harvey would be sent to the minors, placed on the disabled list or reassigned to a non-starting role at the major league level.
Collins indicated that he will discuss the matter with general manager Sandy Alderson and pitching coach Dan Warthen on Wednesday. Harvey’s next scheduled turn is Monday against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field.
“Right now we’ve got to think what’s not just best for Matt, but what’s best for us moving forward at the moment,” Collins said. “There’s a lot of things to consider. That’s why we’re not going to make any rash judgments tonight. We’re going to sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow.”
Asked specifically about the bullpen as an option for Harvey, Collins said: “I’m not going there just yet. I’m going to talk to Dan tomorrow. We’re going to get Sandy and we’re going to talk about some options.”
Harvey (3-7) surrendered homers to Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon andDaniel Murphy during Tuesday’s 84-pitch outing, as his profound struggles continued this season.
Harvey had convinced team officials to allow him to make Tuesday’s start, despite allowing a career-high nine runs in a career-low 2⅔ innings against the Nationals on Thursday at Citi Field — and while again matching up against Stephen Strasburg.
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