Matt Harvey, Mets finally in agreement about Tommy John return

For months, the New York Mets and their ace Matt Harvey have been butting heads about the plan for his return from Tommy John surgery.

But now they seem to be on the same page, with Harvey saying Wednesday that he’s “completely on board” with the Mets’ plan to limit his innings in 2015.

The strong-willed Harvey, who had elbow surgery in October 2013, has tried to one-up his recovery timetable on a few occasions. There was a dispute about his first post-Tommy John throwing session.

Then Harvey, who said he was fine last summer, wanted to pitch last season. The Mets rejected that idea a few times, before manager Terry Collins had to tell Harvey to “back off.”

When Mets GM Sandy Alderson said recently that the club wants to put a “soft innings cap” on Harvey for 2015, you could almost envision the fight. But Harvey said Wednesday, after appearing a Mets coat drive at Citi Field, that he’s “completely on board” with “whatever they decide.” And he admitted that hitting the magic 200-inning mark in 2015 is “probably not likely.”

Furthermore, Harvey told a group of reporters, including Mike Vorkunov of The Star-Ledger:

“Talking to Sandy and going over the fact that because we had a 17-month rehab, it’s giving me a lot more leeway going into this year,” Harvey said. “Instead of completely being cut off at 160 or whatever the number is that we decide, because of the long rest, I’m going to be able to pitch longer into the season.”

Obviously, I was a little stubborn about wanting to pitch in 2014. That’s the competitive nature. I always want to be out there. I think going forward, I don’t think it’s going to be easy to skip starts. I don’t think any pitcher’s going want to really do that, but to be able to pitch in October is going to be more important.”

Nothing is written in stone yet, but Alderson has floated the idea of skipping the occasional Harvey start or shutting him down for a few weeks in the summer. We know Harvey is strong-willed, stubborn and a fierce competitor, so we’ll wait and see if he’s “completely on board” when these things come to pass.

Accepting something in December isn’t the same as accepting it in July, when the games count.

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz