Mets pitcher Matt Harvey to make "half-starts" for rest of regular season

Rather than skipping starts as the regular season draws to a close, the New York Mets will have Matt Harvey pitch "half-starts" for the rest of the season, according to manager Terry Collins.

Harvey will likely be limited to four or five innings in each of his remaining starts this season, the first of which will likely come this weekend as they host the Yankees, reports ESPN New York's Adam Rubin:

Not official, but I'm expecting Steven Matz, Noah Syndgergaard, Matt Harvey vs. Yankees -- in that order.

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) September 13, 2015

Harvey is approaching his much-debated limit of 180 innings this season with 19 games left on the regular season schedule and the Mets holding a 9½ game lead over Washington in the NL East. Harvey has said he does plan to pitch in the postseason, assuming the Mets get there.

Harvey's agent, Scott Boras, has said he would like the Mets to shut Harvey down once he reaches 180 innings this season after he missed all of 2014 having undergone Tommy John surgery on Oct. 22, 2013, and the team has indicated they plan to show caution with their ace, having earlier proposed a plan to have him skip several starts in September.

Harvey has pitched 171⅔ innings in his first 26 starts this season, posting a 2.88 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, walking just 36 while striking out 164. The Mets are 16-10 when he takes the mound this season. It remains to be seen how much he will pitch in the postseason, but for the Mets, some Harvey is better than none at all.