Gee back to Minors to accommodate Harvey

PITTSBURGH -- In a continuation of what he called "the weirdest year in baseball I've ever had," Dillon Gee returned to the Mets on Sunday, only to be told that he's about to leave again. The Mets are having Gee make a third rehab start in part to accommodate Matt Harvey, whom they do not want to give too much extra rest between starts -- despite what manager Terry Collins called a possible case of "dead arm."

Gee flew to Pittsburgh from Port St. Lucie, Fla., where he delivered 6 1/3 shutout innings on Thursday in what he thought would be his final rehab outing. Instead the Mets told him he will turn around and throw on Wednesday for Double-A Binghamton before joining the Mets' much-publicized six-man rotation the following week.

"We don't know for how long," Collins said when asked about the lifespan of his six-man rotation. "It may be two turns, one turn. And I have not talked to Matt yet, but ... right now it looks like we might be going through a little of that dead-arm stuff that sometimes happens with anybody's pitching staff. So this might help him have an extra day, get him back on track for sure."

"Dead arm" is not a structural injury but a colloquial term for the general fatigue that most pitchers feel at points throughout a season. The Mets are unconcerned enough about Harvey to slot him on Friday against the Marlins, not wanting to give him two extra days of rest. So they will wait to insert Gee into the rotation until after Thursday's off-day, thereby ensuring that Harvey will receive just one extra day.

The upshot is that Gee will go to Binghamton for a third rehab start rather than stick with the Mets.

"I don't know what to think about it," said Gee, who threw 93 pitches in his most recent rehab outing. "Obviously, I feel like I can pitch my next start here. I raised that question. I feel like I'm just wasting bullets by pitching again, trying to get over 100 pitches in a Minor League rehab game. But I'm doing what they want me to do."

Gee, who had a 3.86 ERA in five starts prior to injuring his groin, expressed puzzlement over his current situation, but he also knows he does not have much room for negotiation, considering how well top prospect Noah Syndergaard has performed in his place.

"He's pitched great," Gee said. "He deserves to be here as well. I wonder the same thing as most people, like what's going to happen.

"It is what it is, I guess. Six-man rotation, I don't really have anything to say about that, because I've never done it. I guess we'll see how that is after we do it for a little bit, see what everybody thinks."

For Gee, it is simply an extension of a year that saw him endure trade rumors all winter, report to Spring Training as a likely member of the bullpen, then rejoin the rotation after Zack Wheeler needed Tommy John surgery -- only to have the Mets nearly choose Rafael Montero over him. Gee did pitch well in five starts before his injury, forcing the Mets to draw up plans for their six-man rotation.