WASHINGTON -- Is starting Matt Harvey against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night the right call?

There are merits to both sides of the debate, but it now feels like the proper decision is to let him pitch -- for better or for worse.

Unlike the turbulence he experienced when he managed the Astros and the Angels in the 1990s and had more of a Type A personality, Terry Collins’ New York Mets players almost always play hard for him because he treats them with respect and relies on their input. Go back to Collins’ opening season as manager of the Mets back in 2011. In what turned out to be Jose Reyes' final game with the club, Reyes delivered a bunt single in his opening at-bat, then wanted to depart the Sept. 28 game to sit at a .337 average and win the National League batting title. Collins believed that wasn’t the correct call. But he adhered to his player's wishes to maintain the relationship, even though it turned out Reyes departed after the season anyway.

So when Harvey says he wants to take the ball and try to redeem himself for allowing a career-high nine runs in a career-low 2 2/3 innings against the Nationals on Thursday in New York, you adhere to his wishes and give him the ball.

The decision probably makes sense from a pure baseball perspective as well. Harvey isn’t injured. At least not that anyone is aware. And unless he is just hopelessly lost -- which does not appear the case from the reviews of Saturday's simulated game -- he needs to work through his mechanical problems, not dodge the competition.

Sure, it’s not ideal that Harvey might be working out the kinks against the Nationals in a game in which the winner will reside in first place in the National League East. But it really is only May. And Harvey needs to work things out and get right for the four remaining months of the regular season.

Let’s also be realistic about what the alternatives were to starting Harvey. The Mets really had a couple of ways they could have structured things, but it seemingly all centered on Logan Verrett getting a start.

Verrett could have slotted in on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field. That would have given Noah Syndergaard an extra day of rest and pushed him into Monday’s series opener at Nationals Park, followed by Bartolo Colon on Tuesday. Steven Matz then would pitch on his normal day on Wednesday in Washington as planned anyway, followed by Thursday’s team day off. That could have bought until next Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox at Citi Field before Harvey would need to be reinserted into the rotation without another Verrett turn.

Or the Mets could have simply had Verrett sub for Harvey on Tuesday night against the Nats.

Verrett has been an unbelievable asset in spot starts, until a rough outing in Colorado on May 14 filling in for Matz. But Syndergaard ended up completing the Mets’ three-game sweep of the Brewers on Sunday, and Colon earned a win by allowing one run in seven innings on Monday against the Nationals. So the decision to stick with Harvey and not disrupt the other pitchers’ turns so far has proven beneficial.

The bottom line anyway: Harvey was adamant that he wanted a chance at redemption.

"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."

If it’s what Harvey believes is best, he deserves the chance to fight rather than dodge.