Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Harvey was placed on the 10-day IL Saturday with an upper back strain that he’d apparently pitched through at least once.
Harvey admitted Sunday that he stubbornly refused to tell the Angels about his back issue, trying instead to pitch through it.
#Angels RHP Matt Harvey said he “didn’t want to tell anyone” that his upper back was hurting on Thursday. “It was me being stubborn, trying to fight through things,” he said. “Clearly, I couldn’t work through it. It was affecting my performance.”
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) May 26, 2019
Harvey is an excellent case study in why gutting out an injury to try to help the team is sometimes counterproductive for everyone involved. Harvey has a 7.50 ERA in ten starts this season, and there was talk of his spot in the rotation being in jeopardy even before the injury surfaced. It’s not clear how long he’s been dealing with the back issue, and it doesn’t excuse his entire season, but it was certainly a factor Thursday, when the Minnesota Twins tagged him for eight runs in 2.2 innings.
It doesn’t sound like this will be a long absence for Harvey, but considering this is the second injury he’s suffered this season, he’s just not going to be reliable long-term.
