5:40pm: While the Rangers have discussed pursuit of Harvey, per MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter), the organization won’t trade for him. Indeed, GM Jon Daniels confirmed as much in an appearance on 105.3 The Fan (Twitter link). Of course, it still seems possible the organization could be involved if Harvey reaches the open market.
2:36pm: The Giants have also discussed taking a flyer on Harvey, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. San Francisco learned today that Johnny Cueto will miss the next six to eight weeks, and Madison Bumgarner remains on the disabled list until late May. They’ve been plugging in a struggling Derek Holland in the fifth spot in their rotation, though it’s not clear at all if Harvey would represent an upgrade.
12:51pm: Following one of the most high-profile DFAs in recent memory, the Mets appear to be generating some interest in former ace Matt Harvey. Andy Martino of SNY reports that that the Rangers and Mariners both have some degree of interest in acquiring the righty. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi wrote this morning that Texas’ interest is “mild,” while Martino indicates that Rangers assistant pitching coach Dan Warthen is pushing the organization to roll the dice on Harvey. Warthen was his pitching coach with the Mets prior to 2018.
While Morosi speculates about the possibility of the Orioles and Mets lining up on a deal, Martino hears that the O’s don’t have much in the way of interest. Baltimore did check in on Harvey over the winter, but Martino reports that the Mets circled back to the O’s prior to designating Harvey for assignment and found “little interest” despite the disastrous results of the Baltimore rotation thus far in 2018.
It’s not a huge surprise to see the Rangers connected to Harvey, given not only Warthen’s presence in the organization but also the team’s general approach to adding arms this offseason. The Rangers shopped for volume this winter, stockpiling veteran arms on low-cost deals (in many instances on minor league contracts) in an effort to bolster their organizational depth. Payroll was a factor in Texas’ approach, so it seems unlikely that they’d take on the full chunk of Harvey’s remaining contract — about $4.43MM — but the Mets will almost certainly be willing to include cash in any deal. The alternative, after all, is to release Harvey and simply pay him the money is owed anyway.
As for the Mariners, they’ve endured plenty of rotation struggles of their own. James Paxton’s 4.19 ERA leads Seattle starters, and their rotation as a whole has pitched to a 5.30 earned run average. There’s likely been some poor fortune at play — both xFIP and SIERA peg Mariners starters at 4.05 as a group — but the bottom-line results have not been encouraging. Erasmo Ramirez just went back on the disabled list as well, prompting the Mariners to move veteran Wade LeBlanc from a long relief role into the fifth starter’s slot.
It seems decidedly unlikely that the Mets would receive much in the way of a significant return for Harvey, whose struggles date back to Opening Day 2017. He’s earning $5.6MM this season, is a free agent in November and has undergone both Tommy John and thoracic outlet surgery — both of which (especially the latter) have contributed to his rapid decline.
mattcondo
Harvey for headley? Padres throw in some cash or a prospect. Headley is finally coming around
baseball1600
Harvey is probably better than Richard is lol.
bleacherbum
I was going to say something similar as far as Harvey to the Padres. Only issue with Headley being involved is that he is owed twice as much as Harvey, so why would the Mets want to add salary just to get rid of Harvey?
Someone like Jordan Lyles now could make some sense, he is a swing man that is signed to a one year deal for one million. Mets could plug him in the rotation now until some guys get healthy and then slide him into the long role in the pen once that happens.
Padres get to experiment with Harvey for the rest of the season or heck even up until the all-star break. If they can fix him and get him 10-12 starts, that might be enough for another team to give up some prospects at the deadline for him.
padam
Why would the Mets want Headley? He’s the last thing that they’d need and there’s no room for him.
hurricanewar23
Rangers will wait til he gets released then go after him. We don’t have anything to offer for the Mets for Harvey
YesInDidi
Dont need anything to offer
deweybelongsinthehall
Just offer minimal money to prevent Buttman from controlling his own destiny. While athletes need an ego to compete, he needs to get his head out of his butt to have any chance of succeeding.
You are wrong
Lmao. Truth.
Dutch Vander Linde
A couple bags of peanuts will do
gammaraze
The Rangers DO need something to offer. The Mets will be more than happy to let any team pay all of Harvey’s salary, and the Rangers can’t afford that right now. The only way to get the Mets to agree to pay any portion of his salary is to offer something in return.
agentx
Probably better to wait until he’s released, though TEX could send Matt Moore and cash in an even-money deal for Harvey if the Rangers wanted to head the Mariners and other teams off at the pass.
pustule bosey
salary relief.
baseball1600
Im not sure if Texas is the right place for Harvey. Globe Life is a top 5 hitters ballpark, and you are facing 3 top-10 lineups in the AL West. Unsure if Detroit is interested, but Detroit has a pitcher friendly ballpark and a weak division to face. The only question mark would be if its pitching coach could help out Harvey’s mechanics.
hiflew
So by your logic, no pitchers should pitch in hitters ballparks and all the best hitters should sign on with Colorado or Philadelphia? Or that all of these guys should avoid tough challenges?
Another option is that these are professional athletes that aren’t scared of some numbers pumped out by a computer. And they probably didn’t get where they are by taking the easiest road possible. Just a thought.
baseball1600
Thats not what I was implying. Matt Harvey is somebody who is coming off a DFA and hasnt put up respectable numbers since 2015. Yea, going to a pitchers ballpark in a weak division is obviously going to give him a better chance at turning things around than going into a hitters ballpark in arguably the best offensive division.
alexgordonbeckham
Well his logic is also if he wants to save his career. It’s not some star picking where to sign after dominating all season long. Struggling and pitching like garbage and going into a worse situation for pitching isn’t exactly going to help him.
ernestofigueroa87
Shut up!
66TheNumberOfTheBest
Whose MLB career ends first: Matt Harvey or Bartolo Colon?
javier 3
Bartolo Colon
javier 3
Dodgers will pick him up with Kershaw on the DL now
deweybelongsinthehall
This is a long term reclamation project. Only possible reason is the Dodgers are staying under the tax limit and he amazingly could be their best option.
frankthetank1985
I actually think there may be a team that trades something for him because there seems to be a decent number of teams interested in him if he clears the seven days and becomes a free agent. Might be worth asking the Mets to pay most of the salary and trading a prospect of some sort for him. Nothing crazy but something.
stollcm
At the end of the 7 days he’s flat out a free agent, correct? No restrictions?
reflect
Not quite. After 7 days his DFA period ends and the Mets are required to make a decision by then. That usually means he’s released and becomes a free agent, but not always. He can also be outrighted to the minor leagues (they would need his consent), traded, or just added back onto the MLB roster.
95% of the time the player gets released though.
davbee
They DFA-ed him because he said he wouldn’t go to the bullpen. Why would he choose to go to the minors?
Lance
he’s the Reds problem now. a swap of injured people trying to come back.
deweybelongsinthehall
No prospect needed. As cheap as the Mets can be, who ever is willing to pay the most on his remaining 18 contract likely gets him. Many are probably just kicking the tires, etc.
darkstar61
Why would someone give up something of value for 5 months of a demanding problem-child with no current ability who is going to be a Free Agent in 6 days anyway and again in 5 months?
Teams are interested in the “he won’t cost us absolutely anything, maybe we should at least kick the tires” way and no more – and even then his personality might keep them away
deweybelongsinthehall
No reason. Imagine Harvey on Dr. Phil…
mb22
Only reason is Harvey can pick where he goes after 7 days .. team trading for him doesn’t have to compete with any other team looking to sign him .. if he’s a FA I’d bet 5-7 teams would take a shot on him
frankthetank1985
Exactly
matanzas1962
As a former head coach at a D-1 I had my #1 starter have the TOC surgery which consists in the the removal of the first rib. His velo went from 92-94 to 87-89. Based on my experience I doubt that Harvey will have the velo of the past. When watching him pitch the life on his FB is gone. He has a long road ahead. Personally, I always had doubts about his make up and mental toughness in critical situations. Who can forget the game in the WS when he demanded to be allowed to pitch the 9th. We all saw what happened next. I wish him the best but It is going to be tough for him.
brucewayne
He will have to learn how to be a pitcher instead of being a thrower if he expects to continue his career!
Marc Downs
I feel this is something Jerry Dipoto to make a trade because trading two career minor leaguers for a flier.
muskie73
I propose a trade of the expiring contract of right-hander Matt Harvey to Seattle for the expiring contract of left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski.
The Mets are hanging on at 17-15 despite modest production from 34-year-old Jerry Blevins, the only left-hander in their bullpen. Blevins has an ERA of 5.87 in 17 appearances covering only 8.1 innings (although Rzepczynski has an ERA of 8.44 in 12 appearances covering 5.1 innings).
The 29-year-old Harvey is owed $5.63 million in his final year of team control while the 32-year-old Rzepczynski is owed $5.5 million in his final year of team control.
The 19-14 Mariners would retain southpaw James Pazos in the bullpen and could replace the lefty Rzepczynski at a league-minimum salary with Ariel Miranda or the newly reacquired Roenis Elias.
The Mets could pay Harvey more than $4 million to play elsewhere or make a similar investment to add another left-hander to the bullpen.
Marc Downs
As much as I like Scrabble I would do it.
BuddyBoy
Rzepczynski is horrible so trade makes sense from that standpoint. Question is whether you can find a way to carry him and work with him at same time.
jrwhite21
I think you commented something similar when Harvey’s DFA was announced last week. I think that makes sense
zoinksscoob91 2
I really like this idea. Scrabble has mostly been ineffectual for the Mariners (.370 BAA, 1.155 OPS against, can’t ever be allowed to face a right-handed batter… ever.) The M’s have “depth” to replace him as a lefty in the pen (LeBlanc, Miranda, etc.) A trade of expiring “bad contracts” with not much of a difference between the remaining salaries makes a lot of sense. And if Harvey doesn’t work out for the M’s (which it probably won’t, but desperate times call for desperate measures), they torch him quickly and move on. For the Mets, they get rid of a big headache, and obtain a usable piece in Scrabble that might do better in the NL and with a manager/pitching coach combo that knows how to properly deploy him.
ernestofigueroa87
Great idea and thinking!
#Fantasygeekland
Makes sense, this may actually happen
jakec77
I agree with specifics and the general idea in principle. Somebody should be willing to trade their own over paid reliever for Harvey, especially since Harvey has indicated he’s willing to go to the minors to get straightened out as a starter for another club, he just wouldn’t do it for the Mets.
I don’t get the teams like Giants or Yankees who have a need for a starter today- no way I’d acquire him to plug him right into a rotation. Best case scenario here is a different coaching staff and general change of scenery gets him back to being a useful player.
matthew102402
As much as I like Marc Rzepczynski as a person, watching him pitch turns my stomach into a knot. His control is really bad, and let’s say he gets it over the plate, it’s basically down the middle. With the emergence of Pazos, I think they can definitely survive doing this.
reflect
As a Mets fan I would support this trade if no other option was available. Definitely better than releasing him and paying him to play for someone else.
2weeks
rangers should trade Matt Moore for him
2weeks
Texas could trade Matt Moore and Marin Perez for him.
#Fantasygeekland
I feel like the Pirates could be a dark horse contender for him. Maybe Ray Searage can help turn his career around.
imindless
Remember when mariners fans actually thought there rotation was better than the angels? Paxton leads there team with a 4 era, im dead. Dipoto is one of the worst gms and ruined the mariners for years to come. If they were smart they would can him sooner than later.
bigdaddyhacks
And yet the angels are well within striking distance. While the mariners starters have underperformed, the angels are getting starting pitching that’s hitting above expected stats. The mariners and the angels are very similar teams, and I’m a long time mariner fan…but the pace the angels are on isn’t sustainable. Whereas the mariners simply need better production which can come along at any time (see Marco Gonzales last three starts and pax last three) and can be had in the trade market. The mariners have never been under .500 this season and always within a game or 2 of the angels.
matthew102402
The reason the Mariners starting ERA is that bad is because of two bad starts. Mike Leake’s start against the White Sox, and Felix’s start against San Francisco in very early April.
BuddyBoy
Clueless regurgitated comment
brucewayne
Just like so many others on here from so-called smart baseball experts! LoL
Phillies2017
Harvey’s a difficult case
Obviously his past is illustrious, however at this point, he has looked horrible- and doesn’t look as if he’s close to improvements
like, his velocity is way down, his peripherals are rough etc.
Maybe he should call his old teammate R.A. Dickey to help to turn him into a knuckleballer.
Z-A 2
What is the point of trading for Harvey this year? Just sign him in the offseason.
matthew102402
Because he would help out (or potentially, not a guarantee) this year?
Trevor 3
Ok guys, I just got a notification on my iPhone that the O’s just signed Bud Norris. At least I got it…only four years late. Would that be some kind of app issue?
drewster1013
Same was extremely confused at first because I was thinking why would the cardinals trade him when he’s been doing good
mets1536
If they’re actually get interest on him all those idiot clubs that think that he’s going to be around to sign as a FA are going to get a Big Surprise….. the Mets have to pay either way so if they get something for him might as well do that.
terror661
Our Sunday league Ace is better than the Shark. Giants might as well see what’s up or else just try someone else. Anything has to be better than Jeff Shouldhaveplayedfootbazzila
bencole
Why is this article even on here???? Harvey is so bad now he’s totally irrelevant. I can’t wait for the Luke Farrell daily rumors articles when the Cubs DFA him. Would be a good comparison if Matt Harvey was still as good as him.
Lance
This reminds me of Mark Prior…..young pitcher who had a great start to his career but injuries cut it short. Many teams kept giving Prior a chance after Cubs let him go. Padres, Rangers,Yankees, Red Sox and Reds all hoped he would regain that magic. Why give up anything for him? Let Matt tryout and go to the minors and see if he can work it out.
SilvioDante
White Sox should be all over this and be willing to absorb his full salary for a PTBNL. If Harvey ends up being a toad, the Sox can cut him and eat the remaining salary — they have to have own of the lowest payrolls in all of baseball, so how could $5m hurt? If Harvey turns the corner (unlikely, but not impossible) the Sox and Mets should be able to work something out that is fair. If he ends up morphing back into a stud/ace and the Sox and Boras work out an extension, the Mets get a legit prospect. If he’s a stud/ace and leaves, the Mets get something a little less. If he ends up mediocre, they get a mediocre prospect in return. If he ends up being a turd and is released, they get next to nothing back. Easy Peasy!
plmathfoto
Seriously do any of these teams have an overpriced catcher? That would be the perfect fit for the Mets
bastros88
the Long Island Ducks could use a starter
bobtillman
Harvey has absolutely no value. As the coach (above) noted, tho the velocity is still there, he has absolutely ZERO life on the fastball, and his breaking stuff was always “meh” anyway…..
Add in the fact the guy’s a butt-ache (“Dark Knight” my bippee) and why would anyone move for him. There’s 50 guys at AAA that’ll give you what Harvey will. And have less baggage.
Christopher_Oriole
I have no idea why the orioles wouldn’t go after him and roll with a 6 man rotation.
tyguy11
lol
ray714
Dodgers could use another arm .. just not his. We have enough bad pitchers on the roster.