Former New York Mets ace Matt Harvey completes his trip on the long and winding road Wednesday when he starts for the Kansas City Royals in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Royals signed Harvey to a minor-league contract on July 28. He hasn’t pitched in the majors in more than a year after being released by the Los Angeles Angels last summer. This time around, Harvey understands this could be his last chance at being a big-league pitcher.
“Whatever is needed,” Harvey said, per the Kansas City Star. “I obviously don’t have a ton of experience coming out of the bullpen. I was able to do that a little bit with Oakland last year in Triple-A. But you know what? My job is to go out and execute pitches and do that whether it’s the first inning on, or coming in the fourth, fifth, sixth, whatever it is. ... At this point in my career, just having the opportunity to play again has definitely opened my mind to whatever role is needed.”
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Before singing with the Royals, Harvey had been working out on his own during the spring and summer, and at one point in June, considered playing in South Korea.
“Obviously, he has a pretty good track record, what this guy has been,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Harvey. “You’re hoping to see parts of that again. Realizing that he’s been there, done that. There’s a lot to that, as well. The experience, the stuff, the competitive nature, all of those things and what (the staff) is seeing in his execution right now. You get a guy who is highly motivated to get back up there and show the baseball world the kind of pitcher he still is. This is a great spot for him. We had need. And you always look for those guys that have those traits with the experience, the stuff and the drive.”
The 31-year-old Harvey signed a one-year, $11 million contract with the Angels before the 2019 season. The club released Harvey in July after he went 3-5 with a 7.09 ERA in 12 starts.
The Mets traded Harvey to Reds in May of 2018 in exchange for catcher Devin Mesoraco. At the time of the trade, Harvey was 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA and had been banished to the bullpen. Harvey became a free agent following the 2018 season, which ended with the right-hander in Cincinnati.
Harvey’s descent into baseball mediocrity was nothing short of stunning.
In 2013, he started the All-Star game at Citi Field and finished fourth in voting for the National League Cy Young Award.
Harvey returned in 2015 to lead the Mets to the World Series, which they lost in five games to the Royals.
Since then, the right-hander never managed to regain the form which made him a pitching phenom, battling through a series of injuries, including thoracic outlet syndrome and a “stress injury to the scapula bone in his right shoulder.”
The Mets finally cut their losses with Harvey on May 18, 2018.
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