New York Mets planning to skip Matt Harvey in rotation again

The Mets will likely skip Matt Harvey in the rotation in September due to an innings limit.

The Mets will likely skip Matt Harvey in the rotation in September. On Wednesday, Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters that it looked like Harvey would have a start taken away due to a doctor-advised innings limit of 180. Collins said he has a pair of dates in mind to skip Harvey in the rotation.

Harvey, who skipped a start in August as part of the Mets' precautionary handling of their young pitching staff, is slated to pitch Wednesday night against the Phillies. He missed the entire 2014 season recovering from Tommy John surgery after partially tearing his ulnar collateral ligament in 2013. The 26-year-old has bounced back nicely this season, with an 11–7 record, 2.48 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 149 strikeouts in 160 innings.

The Mets' starting pitching depth has allowed the team to deploy a six-man rotation at times this season, including Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Jon Niese, Steven Matz and Bartolo Colon. Harvey is not the only pitcher having his innings managed, meanwhile: Matz, recently activated off the disabled list, will start on Saturday against the Marlins in place of Syndergaard.

Entering Wednesday's action, the Mets sat 6 1/2 games ahead of the Nationals for first place in the NL East.

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- Jeremy Woo