Baseball|After a Season of Pushing to Return, Mets' Matt Harvey Details a ...

In what has become an almost biweekly occurrence since the fall of 2013, Matt Harvey updated reporters Wednesday about the progress of his recovery from Tommy John surgery and his expectations for a successful comeback in 2015.

Harvey conceded that he had been 'stubborn' for pushing the front office to allow him to return by the end of last season, which did not end up happening. After participating in a charitable coat drive at Citi Field, Harvey acknowledged that General Manager Sandy Alderson had made a prudent decision in holding him back.

Harvey, a 25-year-old right-hander, has been training six days a week at Citi Field for the last month, apparently undeterred by the cold (he said he had thrown in temperatures as low as 34 degrees).

His routine has consisted of long toss up to 120 feet and some harder throwing off flat ground. He has worked on every pitch except his slider, which he said he might not be able to throw until the end of March.

By mid-December, he said, he expects to resume throwing off a mound.

In January, Harvey plans to train in Newport Beach, Calif., at the complex of his agent, Scott Boras, where his rehabilitation would ramp up ahead of spring training in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

'Feb. 1, I want to be ready to face some hitters,' Harvey said. 'That's me. I haven't spoken to Sandy or anything in depth about that. But I'm assuming for me to get down there early would be very important.'

Harvey said he had spoken briefly to Alderson about the possibility of an innings restriction next season, although the two are expected to discuss a full strategy closer to spring training. Alderson has indicated that the team could skip some of his starts or give him additional rest to ease his workload.

'As of now,' Harvey said, 'I think realistically throwing 200 innings in the regular season is probably not likely.'

He added that he was receptive to the idea of shaving off some innings during the regular season so he could pitch a full year. He brought up Stephen Strasburg, the Washington Nationals pitcher who was shut down in 2012 because he had passed the innings limit the team had established for him in the off-season. Harvey said he would try to avoid that situation.

'The last thing I would want to do is have to sit on my hands and not be able to pitch in the postseason,' Harvey said. 'Whatever has to be done to get us there, I'm all for. Whatever they decide for that whole process, I'm completely on board.'

Regarding his multiple declarations last season that he would pitch in 2014, which defied Alderson's pleas for patience, Harvey said it was a good thing the front office had held him back.

'Obviously I was a little stubborn about wanting to pitch in 2014,' Harvey said. 'But that's my competitive nature - I always want to be out there. Going forward, I don't think it's going to be easy to skip starts. But to able to pitch in October is going to be important.'

HUNTER BACK TO TWINS More than 17 years after he made his major league debut for Minnesota, Torii Hunter is returning to his home away from home.

'This is where I needed to be,' Hunter said after signing a $10.5 million, one-year contract with the Twins. 'This is home for me.'

Hunter spent the first 11 years of his career with the Twins. He was a first-round pick in 1993 and looked up to Kirby Puckett and Paul Molitor, among others, as he made his way through the system. Now Hunter is 39, in the closing stages of his career, and the team is flush with prospects who need a mentor. (AP)

BRAVES ADD MARKAKIS The free-agent outfielder Nick Markakis and the Atlanta Braves agreed to a four-year contract pending a physical, the team said.

Markakis, 31, spent the first nine years of his career with the Baltimore Orioles. He fills a void left by the recent trade of right fielder Jason Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Atlanta also agreed to terms on a one-year deal with reliever Jim Johnson. (AP)

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