When he exited his last start for the Mets on Saturday, Matt Harvey felt more tightness and soreness in his talented right arm, specifically the forearm, than usual. Harvey plus soreness equals concern for the Mets so off to a doctor's visit went the 24-year-old All-Star.
"I was hoping," Harvey said, "it was tendinitis or just some stiffness and some swelling in the muscle area. It turned out to be something else."
That something else left the organization reeling again.
An MRI revealed Harvey has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and is almost certainly done for this season while facing the prospect of Tommy John surgery, which would likely keep him off the mound until 2015. But surgery is an avenue Harvey vowed "to do everything I can" to avoid, a path GM Sandy Alderson said is not guaranteed. A full evaluation will be made when the swelling goes down in about two weeks.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
MATT-ASTROPHE: Mets ace Matt Harvey watches last night game after learning that his season is likely over. Harvey said he hopes to avoid surgery, but that is an unlikely outcome.
"It was the last thing I was expecting," Harvey said of the news from his exam at the Hospital for Special Surgery. "I haven't had shooting pains down my hand or in my elbow. It's mostly been forearm tightness, something obviously I can pitch through.
"That was definitely a shock."
For everybody.
"Certainly unexpected in my case," said manager Terry Collins, who said he learned of the seriousness of the situation when Harvey told him Sunday.
"This was a surprise to all of us, including Matt himself, who has not really experienced any elbow pain," Alderson said.
"Matt will … certainly miss his next couple starts. It's possible he will not pitch the rest of the season. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility of surgery."
The news was yet another setback for the Mets who recently learned two other young starters, Jeremy Hefner and Jenrry Mejia, would be lost to season-ending surgeries (Hefner, yesterday, had a second opinion yesterday and last week's original diagnosis of Tommy John surgery was confirmed). Additionally, All-Star third baseman David Wright, remains on the DL with a strained right hamstring. Harvey has not yet been DL'd.
The news hit just before the Mets went out and lost, 2-1, to the Phillies and players admitted their hurt while expressing faith Harvey would be back.
"It's horrible. No pitcher wants to go through that and no pitcher wants to hear about that," said Zack Wheeler, another of the Mets young stud pitchers.
"You always feel bad for a guy when he gets hurt but we know Matt and what a competitor he is. He'll be back and he'll be fine no matter what decision they make," Dillon Gee said.
The Mets, of course, have undergone a stunning array of injuries.
"It's not good when anyone gets hurt especially the way he has been pitching," Ike Davis said. "The last couple years we had some key injuries. Injuries happen. Unfortunately they've been happening to key players on our team."
Travis d'Arnaud, another big part of the Mets future, said simply, "I feel terrible for the guy.
"He's having such a great year. He's such a great guy, such a great pitcher, such a great teammate. I'll be praying for him."
Amid the gloom, there were other faint rays of optimism.
"This is not a career-ending injury under any stretch of the imagination," Alderson said.
"I'm going to do everything I can so I don't have to get surgery," said Harvey. "Whether it's strengthening areas in my shoulder and elbow, a lot of stretching to making sure I obviously stay out of the doctor's office."
Harvey said he dealt with forearm discomfort all season.
"If you ask any pitcher, they've probably had some discomfort in their forearm. … It was something I felt like I could pitch through," Harvey said. "Whether it was a month, two months I can't really pinpoint but it had been some time."
Alderson said Harvey, consulting with doctors, will make the surgery call.
"The determination will be made by Matt himself with advice from Dr. [David] Altchek and perhaps a second opinion. These injuries are often progressive. So it is conceivable…no surgery will be necessary [now] but it may be necessary some time down the road," said Alderson.
"We're not going to do anything to jeopardize Matt's career."
All concerned felt something was wrong Saturday against Detroit when he yielded a career-high 13 hits.
"We were certainly planning on trying to give him some time off after the last start," said Collins, who named Carlos Torres to start Thursday for Harvey. "He told the trainers that it was more discomfort than normal and that sent the red flag flying."
fred.kerber@nypost.com
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