clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Dark Knight unleashed?

According to Terry Collins, Matt Harvey won't be under any 'in game restrictions' once the playoffs start.

For the first time since 2006, the New York Mets will play postseason baseball, and with their high-octane offense and vaunted pitching staff, they could be primed for a deep October run. Just a few weeks ago, nobody seemed to know for certain if Matt Harvey would be available, but that situation has been resolved.

Not only will Harvey take the mound for the Mets in the NLDS (and possibly beyond), but according to Terry Collins, he'll be allowed to go deep into games.

Harvey hasn't thrown more than 100 pitches in his last three starts (74, 77, 97, respectively), but that will no longer be an issue once the playoffs begin. However Collins stopped short of saying Harvey wouldn't be under any restrictions.

It's impossible to speculate on exactly how many starts Harvey has left, but he clearly won't be allowed to shoulder a workload like Madison Bumgarner had during the 2014 playoffs (52.2 innings). Fortunately for the Mets, they also have Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard, who along with Harvey, form perhaps the best trio of pitchers in baseball. Steven Matz is also expected to pitch in the playoffs, however his next start is up in the air.

This doesn't appear to be related to his slightly torn lat muscle that forced him to the DL earlier this year, and is not considered serious at the moment. If the prognosis were to change, and Matz was unable to pitch again, Bartolo Colon would likely take his place in the rotation.