Matt Harvey Will Undergo Tommy John Surgery, Likely to Miss 2014 Season

Matt Harvey's attempt to avoid Tommy John surgery has come to an end. 

After the New York Mets star pitcher suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow in late August, the plan was to rehab the injury rather than undergo surgery. There was even talk of Harvey pitching in the Arizona Fall League later this year.

But according to the team's official Twitter feed, Harvey has opted for surgery after further consultation:

And the roller-coaster ride continues. 

All hope for the struggling franchise was sucked out of Queens when news of Harvey's injury broke, but the idea of him potentially dodging surgery instilled renewed faith in Mets fans. Alas, surgery is likely to keep the hard-throwing righty out for the entire 2014 season. 

In 26 starts this season, Harvey went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 191 strikeouts in 178.1 innings. The 24-year-old not only established himself as the Mets' ace, but as one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball. Harvey was even selected to start for the National League in this year's All-Star game. 

Adam Wainwright, who missed the entire 2011 season after Tommy John surgery and most recently churned out a dominant 2013 campaign, had some words of advice for Harvey, via Newsday's Marc Carig:

Pitchers react to this surgery in different ways. Some never regain their velocity, some find new ways to be effective, and some come back just the same—or better. 

Unfortunately for Mets fans, they are going to have to wait to find out which of those groups Harvey will fall into.