PORT ST. LUCIE — Matt Harvey is ready to start playing catch.
The Mets ace, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, received clearance on Thursday to begin throwing, albeit from short distances.
According to pitching coach Dan Warthen, the right-hander will begin playing catch in the next couple of days. The four-month anniversary of Harvey’s surgery is Saturday, and pitchers typically begin playing catch around that time.
The Mets expect Harvey to miss the entire 2014 season during his rehab, but the pitcher has indicated he would like to be in position for a September return if needed. Still to be resolved is whether Harvey will do the bulk of his rehab at the Mets’ spring training complex or in New York with the team.
Position players will undergo physicals Friday, with the first full-squad workout scheduled for Saturday. The final holdouts among the position players, Omar Quintanilla and Wilfredo Tovar, reported to camp on Thursday, just ahead of the team deadline.
Manager Terry Collins planned to attend a meeting in nearby Jupiter on Thursday to discuss rules changes for this season, including the ban on home-plate collisions that is expected to be ratified next week. Instant replay was also on the agenda. Joe Torre, MLB’s executive vice president of operations, and special consultant Tony La Russa were scheduled to conduct the meeting with officials from the Mets, Cardinals and Marlins.
Eric Young Jr. led a base-running drill in which he wore a parachute on his back to provide resistance. Zach Lutz and Andrew Brown followed Young’s lead and participated in the drill.
“When you take off the parachute, it allows you to run with the same power but freer,” Young said.