Mets ace Matt Harvey undergoes Tommy John surgery

It has been known that Harvey would have the surgery since Oct. 4, but when the procedure would take place has been a bit of a mystery. Now that it’s finally over, Harvey can focus on getting healthy again. Barring a miracle, he will miss all of the 2014 season but should be good and ready for 2015 when spring training rolls around.

It was reported that Harvey had torn his UCL on Aug. 26, but there had initially been questions about whether Tommy John surgery would be necessary. The team left the decision up to to Harvey, who initially opted to rehab the injury without surgery. That attempt did not last long, as a little over a week later he changed his mind and decided to have the procedure.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said Oct. 4 that Harvey would go under the knife later in the month. Harvey is currently spending time in Los Angeles, but noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews will perform the procedure. Andrews practices medicine out of Florida and Alabama.

Harvey will miss all of the 2014 season after having the surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament. Typical recovery time for Tommy John is around 10 months to a year. If everything goes well and he suffers no major setbacks, Harvey should then be ready for the beginning of spring training in 2015.

The Mets did not plan to change their offseason plans with Harvey’s injury -- either by avoiding certain free agents or making a trade to replace Harvey for a season -- and the news that he will indeed undergo Tommy John surgery shouldn’t change that.

• Ranking SNL’s “Baseball Dreams” sketch from 1997

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” isn’t best remembered for its incisive dialogue, but there is a line at the beginning of the picture that stays with you. In an inspired teaser segment that sets the tone for the rest of the film, archaeologist Indiana Jones dodges poisonous darts, leaps over chasms, and outruns a giant stone sphere the size of a McDonald’s franchise in order to recover a golden idol from a jungle temple -- at which point he is basically mugged by a rival and relieved of his hard-won trophy. “Dr. Jones,” the competing archaeologist taunts, “Again we see there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away.”

To update his story to modern times, add between 60 and 80 years and replace his name with that of Dwight Gooden or Mark Prior. Pretty much everything else remains the same. The history of pitching is also the history of pitching injuries, and though it seems like more hurlers than ever are undergoing surgery, it’s far more likely the case that diagnostic tools have improved so dramatically that we can see the need for it more clearly than ever before. A pitcher like Donohue was doomed to meatball his sore-armed self out of the majors and eventually out of the pro ranks altogether; a pitcher such as Lefty Grove had to muddle through until he could figure out how to reinvent himself after arm problems (his came in 1934); Matt Harvey has other, presumably better options.

After experiencing forearm soreness recently, the Mets ace got an MRI earlier on Monday. The Mets were already reportedly considering shutting down Harvey at the 200-inning mark anyway. With Harvey and Zach Wheeler, New York has the core of a strong rotation for years to come, and they will obviously proceed very carefully with Harvey’s treatment.

Harvey was a first-time MLB All-Star in 2013 and finished with a dazzling 2.27 in 26 starts for the Mets. He struck out a league-high 191 batters in 178-plus innings and will likely earn some Cy Young Award votes when all is said and done despite the injury.