Harvey expected to return to Mets next season

As catastrophic as 2017 has been for New York Mets starter Matt Harvey, the team is apparently leaning towards keeping him around.

"It’s highly unlikely that we’re not going to bring him back next year," general manager Sandy Alderson told the New York Post's Mike Puma.

Harvey has accrued just under five years of MLB service time with the Mets, which makes him arbitration eligible for one more season before becoming an unrestricted free agent. So, while his performance hasn't been encouraging, the team is willing to eat around $6 million in salary in case he can revert to his pre-2016 form.

Part of the risk involved in letting him go, according to an anonymous MLB talent evaluator, is him returning to Citi Field to show the Mets were wrong.

"I know he’s a pain in the (butt),” he said. "But if he went somewhere else and pitched well, Sandy might be in trouble."

Harvey's already showing improvements between starts, which may be enough for the organization to take a one-season flier on him.

"We saw some positive things the other day," Alderson said. "Hopefully we can build on those. The velocity was a little better, he just needs some confidence and we’re going to keep running him out there and see what happens toward the end of the season. But let’s not assume the worst."

Over his last 34 starts - dating back to the beginning of 2016 - Harvey has gone 9-16 with a 5.68 ERA and a 1.562 WHIP. He had never posted an ERA higher than 2.73 before that.