The New York Mets gave Matt Harvey the option of skipping his next scheduled start, but the right-hander wants the ball.
Harvey will start on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals, who drilled him for a career-high nine runs in a career-low 2 2/3 innings last week. Harvey has a 5.77 ERA in nine starts this season.
"Obviously it's frustrating being out there right now when you're not doing well and not helping the team," Harvey said. "As a teammate, your objective is to do everything you can to win games and help us succeed. And I wasn't doing that. So, obviously, they gave me an option to be skipped or whatnot and really try to figure things out. For me, taking time off isn't going to do anything. It's finding it on the mound.
"I'm not a quitter. I'm not going to just quit and put the ball down. It's a fight. It was good for me to do that."
There has been speculation Harvey's arm, while not injured, is suffering from a hangover after logging 216 innings in 2015. That's the most innings ever logged in a first season back from Tommy John surgery.