Matt Harvey to rest three weeks before Mets decide on Tommy John surgery

Mets pitcher Matt Harvey will rest three weeks before the team decides whether he will have Tommy John surgery. (Steve Mitchell/Getty Images/)

New York Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said Wednesday that star pitcher Matt Harvey will rest three weeks before the team decides whether to move forward with Tommy John surgery. Alderson said that while Harvey's injury is "not a dream unrealized, it may be a dream deferred," according to the Mets blog citing an interview the GM did Wednesday with ESPN Radio.

Harvey was placed on the injured list Monday after an MRI revealed a partially-torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. In his last start on Aug. 24, a loss to the Detroit Tigers, he surrendered a career-high 13 hits in 6 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old had been receiving preventative elbow treatments since spring training, and Alderson said it's hard to pinpoint when the pain in his forearm began.

Alderson said Wednesday that Harvey will let him know toward the end of September whether it is still hurting and then the front office will have him undergo more tests to decide whether surgery is necessary.

Alderson said Harvey spoke on Tuesday with Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, who suffered a similar injury, and he reassured Harvey that a comeback is possible:

"[Harvey] spoke to Roy Halladay yesterday and Halladay said ‘I had the same problem 10 years ago and I still haven’t had the surgery.’ There is reason to hope in that regard...There is still some possibility that surgery will not occur and Matt will decide to do something else.”

That same day, Harvey tweeted that he "may be done this year," but added that he plans to return April 1.

The Mets, who host the Phillies on Wednesday, are currently 10 games up in the NL East on the last-place Miami Marlins.