Matt Harvey will throw a bullpen session on Sunday

Sandy Alderson said this afternoon that Matt Harvey has pitched off the slope of a mound, and on Sunday, Harvey is set to throw his first bullpen session since suffering a shoulder injury back in June. That injury was the latest in a string of injuries of varying severity that Harvey has had in his major league career. After having Tommy John surgery that knocked out his 2014 season, Harvey had surgery last year for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

Harvey has not been nearly as good as he used to be since coming off the surgery for TOS, which is not uncommon for pitchers who have undergone the procedure. In thirteen starts this year, he has a 5.25 ERA and 6.19 FIP and has struck out just 6.91 batters per nine while walking 4.48. All of those rates are the worst marks of his career, but as the Mets gear up for 2018, they have to hope that this version of a recovered Harvey can show them something encouraging down the stretch so that the might be counted upon as a significant member of the team’s rotation next year.