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Harvey hopes to avoid Tommy John surgery

New York Mets ace Matt Harvey is vowing to do everything possible to stay out of the operating room, and on Tuesday took to Twitter with a message of optimism.

"Thank you everyone for the kind words and support. I may be done this year, but I will be back next year for April 1."

The Mets placed the 24-year-old right-hander on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, the day after Harvey learned that he has a partially torn ligament in his pitching elbow.

"When I heard the news I was pretty shocked," Harvey told USA Today. "I'm still very optimistic. I'm going to do everything I can so I don't have to get surgery, whether it is strengthening areas in my shoulder and elbow, a lot of stretching and making sure I stay out of the doctor's office."

Mets officials were not as optimistic, saying they had no new information to indicate that the National League strikeout leader might not need surgery.

"If that's his tweet, that's his tweet," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told ESPN before Tuesday's game at Citi Field against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Alderson said Harvey will have another MRI in about two or three weeks to determine the severity of the injury. If Harvey does have surgery, he probably would miss most of the 2014 season.

Alderson added that the decision to have surgery will be Harvey's, along with team doctor David Altchek.

Harvey said he had been experiencing forearm discomfort for a couple of weeks but didn't think it was anything more than the usual soreness from pitching.

The first outward sign Harvey was injured occurred Saturday night when he was shelled by the Detroit Tigers. Even though his fastball was clocked in the 97 mph range, manager Terry Collins sensed something was not right.

"It's not like the velocity was down," Collins said. "I just didn't see the crispness and stuff."

Harvey finishes his first full season in the majors, with a 9-5 record, a 2.27 ERA and a 191 strikeout.