Mets say Harvey to keep pitching

But agent says client’s health may be ‘in peril.’

The New York Mets plan for Matt Harvey to keep pitching as long as they keep playing.

Harvey is expected to make four more starts during the regular season and assume a “reasonable workload” during the playoffffs, assistant general manager John Ricco said Friday.

Harvey missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and his health came into question after he became dehydrated during his latest start on Wednesday.

The right-hander is 12-7 with a 2.60 ERA and has thrown 166 1/31/3 innings for the NL East leaders, and there are no plans to shut him down at any point, Ricco said.

“We’re very comfortable with the fact that we’ve had a plan that has involved the doctors all the way through,” Ricco said. “To this point they’re still fine with that plan. We all think it’s a reasonable way to go.”

However, agent Scott Boras claims that to push his client past 180 innings “is putting the player in peril.”

Boras made the comments in an interview with CBSSports.com. Boras said the doctors who performed Harvey’s Tommy John surgery have said he should not throw more than 180 innings this season, his first after the procedure.

“These are doctors’ opinions,” Boras told CBSSports.com. “And club offcials are not determining how many innings he can pitch. Matt Harvey would love to pitch. But the surgeon who saved his career and other surgeons consulted have said that for maximum safety he is not to exceed 180 innings for the year.”

Harvey underwent blood tests following his bout with dehydration and was cleared to make his next scheduled start on Tuesday against Washington. He was en route to Miami on Friday night to join the Mets for their series against the Marlins.

There’s no change in plans regarding his pitching schedule, which includes him skipping a start sometime this month, Ricco said. He said there’s no ceiling regarding how many innings Harvey will be allowed to throw this year.

That number might be considerably higher if the Mets go deep into the postseason.

“The plan is a reasonable workload in the playoffffs,” Ricco said. “I don’t think you’ll see us pushing the limits there. ... All of this is contingent on Matt’s health and how he’s feeling. There’s a chance if we get to a point where he’s not feeling up to it that he’ll be shut down.”