Matt Harvey has symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome

General manager Sandy Alderson spoke to assembled media members and told them that Matt Harvey has symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome. Harvey was presented with two options, surgery or a nerve-block injection. The surgery would require a four-month recovery that would end his season. Harvey complained of shoulder discomfort after his last start and was placed on the DL yesterday.

Thoracic outlet syndrome is relatively rare and produces a compression of nerves or blood vessels in the shoulder. Harvey has not decided what avenue to explore to correct the problem, but Alderson thinks that surgery is inevitable.

Harvey faced a similar decision when he originally did not want to have Tommy John surgery and tried to go the rehab route, but it got to a point where elbow surgery was unavoidable.

Harvey by all accounts has had a down year, but everything came to a head after his last start against the Marlins. According to Terry Collins, Harvey couldn’t feel the ball during that start and that his arm was dead. In that start, Harvey only lasted 3.2 innings and gave up six runs, five of them earned.

The Mets now have a hole to fill in their rotation and Zack Wheeler is not an option. They have no timetable for Wheeler’s return from Tommy John surgery. Logan Verrett will get the start Saturday against the Nationals.

Here is Alderson addressing the media: