Mets want focus to be on team, not Harvey's rehab

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Though the Mets are eager to track Matt Harvey's rehab progress all spring and summer, do not expect them to trumpet his every achievement along the way.

"The thing that maybe I should try to make clear at the very outset of this camp is that the story for 2014 is not Matt Harvey," general manager Sandy Alderson said Thursday. "The story for 2014 is the other 25 players who are active. We're all interested in Matt's progress, obviously. But we don't intend for it to be a storyline every time he throws 40 pitches."

Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery on Oct. 22, and is expected to play catch for the first time next weekend. Coming off a National League Cy Young Award-caliber season before his injury, Harvey has stated that he would like to return as soon as September -- though a more realistic goal would be the start of 2015.

"I know he's anxious to get back and I know he wants to be ready to go in September, and that's fine," Alderson said. "But we have an identity of interest with him, and that is his long-term value to himself as a player and to us as an employer. We'll focus on his rehab with that in mind."