It’s likely 2013 will go down as the Year of Matt Harvey in Flushing — either as the year a perennial All-Star announced his presence atop the rotation with a dominant spring and summer, or as the year a fire-balling phenom’s promise was lost to a devastating late-season arm injury. But Harvey’s trajectory was just one of the major stories to emerge from the Mets as they plodded to a third-place finish and began to make some noise in free agency.
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1. The rise and fall of Matt Harvey
Paul J. Bereswill Harvey became the first Mets pitcher since Dwight Gooden to start an All-Star Game, after a dominant first half in which he was the toast of baseball. But the 24-year-old righty began losing steam in the second half, and in late August was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. After initially resisting Tommy John surgery, Harvey underwent the procedure in October and is expected to miss the entire 2014 season.
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2. Sandy ends the spending freeze
AP After three straight winters in which general manager Sandy Alderson barely dabbled in free agency, the Mets finally loosened the purse strings. In Curtis Granderson, Chris Young and Bartolo Colon, the Mets have committed $87.25 million to contracts since the end of the season. But even with that spending — dollars that were previously earmarked for Jason Bay and Johan Santana, who had expiring contracts — the Mets’ payroll isn’t expected to increase significantly from the 2013 figure of $85 million. Â
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3. Collins a Citi sticker
Paul J. Bereswill Despite a third straight losing season, manager Terry Collins received a two-year contract extension. Alderson cited the Mets’ 49-48 record over the final 3 1/2 months of the season as a sign the team improved under Collins. The Mets’ coaching staff — Bob Geren, Dave Hudgens, Dan Warthen, Tim Teufel, Tom Goodwin and Ricky Bones — also remained intact, leaving popular Wally Backman stuck as the manager at Triple-A Las Vegas.
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4. What's up with Ike?
Getty Images The Mets shrugged off Ike Davis’ poor first half in 2012 by pointing to his strong finish and 32 homers. There was no such strong finish for Davis in 2013: After a disastrous first half that included his demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas, Davis wound up with a .205 average, nine homers and 33 RBIs. That put him on the trading block as the Mets prepare to move forward with Lucas Duda at first base.
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5. Wheel deal
Getty Images Zack Wheeler, the organization’s top pitching prospect, arrived in June and provided the Mets with a solid rotation presence. But the expectations were higher than Wheeler’s final numbers — Â he went 7-5 with a 3.42 ERA over 17 starts. The Mets would like to believe Wheeler will be more dominant in 2014, following the path Harvey took a year earlier.