Matt Harvey Traded to Reds
May 10, 2018
Matt Harvey Traded to Cincinnati Reds
The Dark Knight’s career in New York has come to an unceremonious end, as he was traded to the Reds yesterday for catcher Devin Mesoraco in a 1-for-1 swap. Harvey’s time on the Mets has been an absolute roller coaster – and sadly, he is getting off at the bottom. I was a huge Matt Harvey fan, so I feel obligated to bring attention to some of the things he did accomplish as a Met rather than focus on his recent struggles.
His initial breakout season was in 2013, where he put up these eye-popping stats: 2.27 ERA, 191 strikeouts in 178 innings pitched, .93 WHIP, and a 9-5 record. During that All-Star season, Harvey was able to hit 100 with his fastball and had a ferocious slider. It honestly kills me to write this because I remember how electrifying Matt Harvey was. He was the most exciting young pitcher in baseball, and I made him a staple in all of my fantasy baseball leagues. Start after start, Harvey would go out and toss 7-8 innings, let up a run, and strike out 9 batters. I checked out his game log and it is just ridiculous how good he was. The Mets fanbase dubbed him as the Dark Knight, since his emergence was right around the time of the Batman trilogy (Harvey Dent = Matt Harvey, the hero Gotham needed). The days he started were #harveyday. Fans were giddy at the thought of Harvey and DeGrom leading their rotation, with minor league studs Steven Matz, Noah Syndergaard, and Zach Wheeler all ready to get promoted to the majors.
In August of 2013, however, he went under the knife to get Tommy John surgery and missed all of the following season. But even that did not really derail Harvey; he put up similar ridiculous numbers in 2015 while being a key factor in the Mets’ World Series run. Off of Tommy John, he tossed 189 innings, struck out 188 batters, had an ERA of 2.71, and a WHIP of 1.02. He pitched the NL East-clinching game against Cincinnati, and flashed more greatness in the NLCS series against the Cubs. Game 5 of the World Series was/is the peak of Matt Harvey’s career thus far. This was his final start in the post-Tommy John season, and he became a borderline Mets legend. He mowed through the Royals lethal contact-hitting lineup, striking out 9 over 8 innings on the biggest stage. Despite being at 8 innings and 101 pitches, Harvey convinced Terry Collins to let him try to finish what he started. Had he been able to close out Game 5, Harvey would have been cemented in Mets sports lore for eternity. Unfortunately, he had a tight leash, was yanked at the first sign of trouble, and the bullpen coughed up the lead, leaving the Mets with a whole lot of “what-if’s”.
The 2016 season is when things started to get unraveled, as Harvey dealt with a blood clot in his bladder and thoracic outlet syndrome. TOS causes hand weakness, numb fingers, and shoulder pain – pretty much a death sentence for a major league pitcher. Harvey’s pitches lost their effectiveness and he would consistently struggle to make it out of the 5th inning. Combine that with the added pressure of being a star in New York, high expectations of a World Series-caliber team, and the media beginning to question his character… he never fully recovered. I can’t speak to Harvey’s motivation level and/or character. There was some pretty visible friction between Harvey and the Mets organization. I would imagine that the guy is beyond frustrated at how his career had taken a crash landing. 2016, 2017, and so far in 2018, Matt Harvey is not the same pitcher – and may never be.
I hope that this move to Cincinnati allows Harvey to regain the respect he once had. It is a smaller market, out of the spotlight. If he is still dealing with effects of TOS, chances are he never recovers. If it was a character/motivation issue, however, I think this could be his chance for redemption. Meanwhile, the Mets got themselves a reclamation project of their own in Devin Mesoraco, who was an All-Star in 2014 after hitting 25 home runs. This could be a win-win for the organizations and the players. Personally, I am really rooting for Harvey to succeed. I hate how his name has been tarnished over the years and people forget how dynamic he once was.
Maybe the Dark Knight rises again, this time for Cincinnati.
