12:07PM: Harvey will earn $1MM if he makes the Orioles’ active roster, Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun writes.
10:32AM: The Orioles have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Matt Harvey, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).
Baltimore was known to be looking for veteran pitching depth, and the O’s already brought in another prominent name in Felix Hernandez earlier this month on another minors contract. King Felix will now be joined by the Dark Knight in competition for a spot in the Orioles’ rotation.
Whether Harvey sticks as a starting pitcher or perhaps is shifted to the bullpen is a question to be determined. Since undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in 2016, Harvey has an ungainly 6.09 ERA over 319 Major League innings with the Mets, Reds, Angels, and Royals. After inking a minor league deal with Kansas City last year, Harvey posted an 11.57 ERA over 11 2/3 innings for the Royals, allowing six home runs in that brief stint.
Three of Harvey’s seven appearances with K.C. came as a reliever, which marked his first bullpen work since the Mets removed him from the rotation after struggling early in the 2018 season. If he can’t crack Baltimore’s pitching staff, it seems likely that Harvey would embrace a full-on conversion to relief pitching as a way of potentially sticking on a big league roster and getting his career back on track.
The seventh overall pick of the 2010 draft, Harvey immediately burst onto the scene with excellent numbers in 2012-13, and finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2013 (his new teammate Hernandez, incidentally, finished eighth in the AL Cy Young race that same season). After missing the 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery, Harvey rebounded with another strong year to help lead the Mets to the NL pennant in 2015. Unfortunately, mounting injuries and off-the-field issues clouded Harvey’s remaining years in the Big Apple before he was dealt to the Reds in May 2018.
Rangers29
Reliever.
DarkSide830
as in a passable one? that’s generous.
Rangers29
I never said passable, just reliever. That’s what he needs to be tried as because he has blatantly failed as a starter. What’s the worst that could happen? He does bad? Because he’d do the same thing starting. I just think it gives him a better chance to succeed again.
DarkSide830
I mean anyone can be a reliever. I or you could be a reliever. It’s fashionable it seems to say washed up SP can be relievers, but the reality is its not that simple. Like I said in a later post, we wouldn’t even be postulating on whether or not he could be one if he was named anything but “Matt Harvey.”
looiebelongsinthehall
Neither starter nor reliever. The Dark Knight is simply toast. Solid move by the O’s to see if he has anything left as if a surprise takes place, he’s flipped in July. That said, who expects it? Not me.
giantsphan12
Oh come on @Dark, Pablo Sandoval could easily become a starter if some team would just give him the chance!
Not a clever name
Pablo is perfect as a pitcher for his career, why mess that up? Though maybe the O’s could make him their closer and sign Kenly Jansen to catch for him.
giantsphan12
He’s got a nasty curve ball! One of the most entertaining innings of my life, watching Pablo get three outs in relief against the Dodgers in 2019. Jansen was literally laughing his a** off while Pablo was throwing his 88mph Heater and his 12-6 curve. Good times!
sufferforsnakes
I get relief from passable gas…..
think it thru
@sufferfortribe nailed it!
Ra
My favorite Mason Williams song!
davidk1979
Good landing spot as they have no pitching talent but he’s gonna get bombed sadly.
hoyaparanoia
Actually they have quite a few young promising arms. So not exactly “no pitching talent”. If you mean big names then yes you are correct. But Rodriguez, Hall, Baumann, Akin, Kremer have all gotten high marks from different publications.
SodoMojo90
About the worst home for park for any pitcher trying to get a career back on track to try and go to
LordShade
Worse than Coors, Miller, and Yankee Stadium? I don’t know about that.
Not a clever name
I think Camden yards is in that company but I haven’t checked so you might be right.
Not a clever name
Yep looks like when it comes to Hr and slugging Camden yards is consistently in the top five and that’s with a team recently that hasn’t hit all that well, I wonder why it looks like with Story and Arenado playing there the last three years, Coors is a big HR park but it’s the gaps that kills pitchers making solo shots 2 and 3 run shots and 7 run games in Camden 10 run games in coors. Both teams starting 5 the last 3 years have been garbage so I think it’s probably equal on that front, and maybe that’s why Yankees stadium hasn’t been in the top 5 despite the power hitters the Yankees have. I looked at HR runs slugging OBS and BA there may be other stats you are looking at though.
slidepiece
Not sure about the “no pitching talent” remark, however in full agreement that both he and Felix are going to get bombed. Tough park and an even tougher division to pitch in.
Scrap1ron
The Dark Knight lives.
schellis 2
He’s at batman beyond stage now.
philliesphan77
Please. He’s Batman & Robin starring George Clooney at best
SalaryCapMyth
@philliesphan. Damn bro. That was just..mean and ugly what you just said. You weren’t even talking to me and my feelings STILL got hurt. >=}
philliesphan77
Yeah, sometimes I can go too far when I’m fired up. Sorry guys!
philliesphan77
I should have made a Mr. Freeze/cold as ice pun but I dropped the ball
1984wasntamanual
Ice puns are TIGHT
flyingblindsquirrel
The Dark Night lifts the head of his otherwise lifeless body.
Tom1968
Dark knight my asssss… its dark cloud
AzMike
He might do allright as a reliever but his days as a starter are done
Deadguy
I wanna believe he can still start at 32, but it seems relief might be it.
slidepiece
Unfortunately he may be completely done, but it’s OK to pull for the old guard, even though most pitcher are still In their prime at his age.
Ra
That’s not really true. Baseball has a history of pitchers who have blown out their arms by the age of 30. Even many great ones.
Comment_and_Chill
Worth a chance on a minor. Interesting move to follow. Will be interested if he pitches well enough to get flipped at the deadline
stymeedone
A player that no one else had interest in now, is going to have such an insignificant value at the deadline, even if he pitches decently, that he will have more value to the Os. Stop with the delusion of flipping at the deadline.
jbigz12
Stymeedone you always come in with some sh@tty comment and I’m not sure why. The o’s were able to flip Tommy freaking Millone last year for a couple spectators. You have no idea if they’d be able to flip him.
Odds are it won’t be much but by mid season the Orioles will probably be ready to call up some of the guys on the farm to get an opportunity to start.
dimitriinla
I doubt he does much. Would have been nice to keep guys of this ilk off the O’s roster. (The clubhouse has been outstanding under Hyde; no point in running the risk of polluting that.)
roenickstein
He’s a warm body. All the Orioles need at this point. Don’t love it. Don’t hate it.
dimitriinla
Don’t like it. Not sure how a guy of his character (or lack of it) will benefit the young O’s culture.
bjhaas1977
Good luck Matt! Hope you make a comeback and are 2021’s feel good story.
Appalachian_Outlaw
He appears all but finished. It’s a minor league deal though, so no harm in Baltimore at least kicking the tires on him.
Dumpster Divin Theo
While the Os kick the tires, the rest of the division will be kicking his butt
driftcat28 2
Batting practice for the rest of the AL East
bobtillman
The AL East is now decided.
DarkSide830
name recognition has gotten this guy so many 2nd chances.
Rangers29
Couldn’t agree more. If his name was Scrotal Balsac then he would’ve retired by now.
rct
If his name was Scrotal Balsac, he’d be one of the most popular players in the league, regardless of performance.
think it thru
Not sure if Mich Haniger would agree
dirkg
Not sure, Brooks Pounders didn’t get as much pup as he should have.
DockEllisDee
Idk I think Scrotal Balsac would sell a lot of jerseys at least. Kind of like when Bong was on the Reds
Joe It All
The most creative jersey I’ve ever seen at a Reds game was a personalized one. The guys name was DUI MATT and his number was .08
Srechter35
Why, oh why, did this make me laugh so hard?
Tom1968
Was a guy in the early 90s called wonderful terrific monds jr… never made it..harvey could be called milo yambag ,wont make a difference if the oriole infield gets whiplash watching every ball whiz over their head.
PutPeteinthehall
The man had TOS. Archer has had same operation. Few return as decent pitchers after this. Very likely both will not be in professional baseball by August.
rct
Have any pitchers came back from TOS and pitched well? Seems to be a career ender.
JOHNSmith2778
According to an article I saw all these guys had it – Josh Beckett, Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Noah Lowry, Shaun Marcum, Kenny Rogers and Chris Young
Flyby
i thought phil hughes had it too and did decently as a reliever for a year or two
DarkSide830
yeah I dont see why people just expect the later to come back and even be serviceable.
swinging wood
And I don’t think any of them were more than a shell of their former selves after that surgery.
swinging wood
Whoops, meant to reply to JOHNSmith2778 above.
differentbears
Josh Beckett was pretty good after he had the surgery, put up good numbers for a season or two, and even threw a no-hitter.
But it’s usually a bad sign when a pitcher needs it.
padam
This is truly the last stop before retirement when you’re signing minor league deals with the O’s. Sad to see a talented player sunset like this.
Shoeless Joe
Time to hang em up
66TheNumberOfTheBest
I’m not a fan of grown men who think and/or pretend to be Batman, but Harvey not giving up despite being done for years deserves respect.
Leave it all (even if it’s very little) on the field and have no regrets or questions.
MrMet62
This
dirkg
To his credit, he didn’t come up with that nickname. The Dark knight came from a 2013 Sports Illustrated cover of him. The fans and media ran with it.
partyatnapolis
doesn’t anyone learn?
609Collectibles
At least he will get a rotation spot to showcase if he has anything left in the tank
towinagain
Would love to see him as a comeback of the year candidate and with the Os, even better. Whatever happens, major respect for not giving up!
George hubschman, roto imbeciles
I’d like to see Matt Harvey (and King Felix for that matter) have decent springs and make the O’s. Baltimore is probably the last bastion (except maybe Pittsburgh) for anyone looking to continue a major league career. Since 2015 with 4 teams, he flashes a 5.82/1.50 ERA/WHIP with 476 HA in 412 IP, a 19-34 record, a (-1.4) WAR, and a 323/143 K/BB. So odds aren’t looking that good that Harvey can salvage a once promising career.
sadosfan
Can you imagine having Harvey, and Hernandez at their best with means. At one point in time this would have been intimidating.
think it thru
If Harvey and Hernandez WERE at the best that scenario never happens
dirkg
Yes, with now extra emphasis on “at one point in time.”
Scrap1ron
Pitching for a bad team in a hitter’s ball park against the beast line ups in the AL East.
His starts should come with a warning that “viewer discretion is advised”.
casorgreener
Made me spit out my drink!
dclivejazz
Man, how the mighty have fallen. Good luck to him and Felix, though.
jsaldi
If if if if he may somehow rebound a trading chip at mid season ?
whyhayzee
Invisible rabbit.
Dumpster Divin Theo
Jimmy Stewart
whyhayzee
Would you let her use my golf clubs?
Well of course not, she’s left handed.
Christopher_Oriole
The Orioles, assembling a 2013 All-Star pitching staff…in 2021.
mhsaltz1963
Who wins more games, the O’s or the Pirates?
SodoMojo90
O’s for sure
Appalachian_Outlaw
@Sodo- I’m not so sure. The O’s are definitely the better of the two, but their division is significantly harder.
ccahoe02
Their AAA will be more fun to watch
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
Worth a try
mhsaltz1963
The King and The Dark Knight are cooked. At least they didn’t sign another cooked pitcher, Jake Arietta, for $6 mil.
Srechter35
Really still scratching my head on that one. Especially coming from the Cubs, who’ve claimed to have no money for some time now. They’re really falling for his “best shape of my life” narrative, it seems.
mrmackey
King Felix and the Dark Knight of Gotham.
If the Os can just shift time back to 2013 now…
angt222
I’ve thought this would be a good match for a while now if Harvey coverts to relief pitching full-time. If healthy he could take over as closer.
Cosmo2
His arm is toast. He’ll be lucky to catch on as a mop up guy, mid-reliever at best. No way he’s gonna be anyone’s closer.
dirkg
As an Angel fan who saw him up close in 2019, his arm isn’t toast per se (still decent velocity), but his movement is…it’s super straight. You can tell his “stuff” is gone.
Yep it is
“ Getting his career back on track” don’t know who is more delusional Harvey himself or the columnist who wrote this.
Steve(shs22)
Hunter Harvey > Matt harvey
TAKERDBACKS
Man I remember when he was the next big thing! Cant take anything for granted.
DarrenDreifortsContract
I still remember when people were saying this bum was better than Kershaw lollll.
C-Daddy
It’s crazy that’s he’s now had more negative WAR seasons than positive ones. It seems very unlikely he’ll have a “career resurrection” at this point.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
He was good for a few years. Nowhere near Kershaw good.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
This dude went from a TOR guy to hitting rock-bottom in less than 5 years.
Rsox
Matt Harvey, Felix Hernandez, Wade LeBlanc. That would be a strong rotation–if this were 2015.
At this point the Orioles have nothing to lose and just need someone to eat innings until the kids are ready
Robrock30
I guess it beats flipping burgers for a living or minimum wage job.
The days of dating supermodels is over for him now.
Orel Saxhiser
He still has more money than his critics.
violentdreams11
what the hell has happened to him lol he used to be lights out !!!!
think it thru
Ahhh enlightenment reigns supreme
Ra
Think again, robrock. Dude has earned $28 million…
@DaOldDerbyBastard
Harvey pitches a little like Tom Seaver and a lot like Thom Yorke.
Srechter35
Harvey’s demise is a solid cautionary tale that, while no one wants Tommy John surgery, hardly anyone makes it back from thoracic outlet syndrome.
Orioles Fan
Of all the young talent that has been cut the past few months I just don’t see any upside in this deal. I don’t think he will try and tutor any of the young pitchers also. I don’t really see any point of this deal.
Ra
It’s a minor league deal. They have nothing to lose, like every other minor league deal.
jim stem
How does this guy keep getting a contract? There are probably batting practice pitchers who are more effective.
Ra
More effective? No.
Buck Fiden
Harvey, LeBlanc and King Felix are head scratching moves, I get the low risk aspect of a minor league deal, but what I don’t get is why they wouldn’t just start the season with Baumann and Lowther as the 4 and 5. That’s the direction I thought they were headed when they traded Cobb. Same goes for the bullpen, I’d rather see Mattson, Hunter Harvey, Tanner Scott, Kyle Bradish, Cody Sedlock, Alex Wells and Kevin Smith than these old timers. The O’s rebuild could be complete by the end of 2022 when 3/4 of their talented top 20 will be there, but it seems that they are intent on delaying it for some unknown reason.
Orioles Fan
I really get what you are saying and totally agree. The young pitchers need to get their feet wet. Akin and Kramer looked very good. I would like to see what Smith has also. There offense is really not that far away. I would of like to seen Martin have a solid chance to play SS. I didn’t like the Galvis signing either.
Buck Fiden
Glad we are in agreement, although I’m not as high on Martin as you, plus I think he recently broke his hand. I like Galvis if he is 2019 Toronto Galvis. Great defense and a slightly plus bat for the position especially at $1.5M. We got a great 40 games or so out of Iglesias and then turned him into Garrett Stallings who I like as a prospect. Hopefully Galvis can do the same.
Orioles Fan
The reason I don’t like the Galvis move in my opinion he is a step lower than Iglesias. Too many younger infielder were FA this offseason and the Orioles past on all of them. I am not a big Martin fan but I would have like to seen him play and the team could have used the money on better veteran pitchers than their recent signings. And your right Martin is a month behind everyone else because of his injury.
steveguy13
Probably because whoever didn’t pitch in the majors last year didn’t really have a season and the O’s don’t want to just throw them into the fire after what was essentially a lost year for minor leaguers. These guys are low risk veteran placeholders if they even make the team.
Ra
Bauman and Lowther hardly pitched last year. They should not be expected to jump to the majors and throw 150 innings. Don’t ruin their careers in a season the Orioles will not be able to compete for the playoffs. They won’t even start to open the window until 2022.
Tom1968
You think bullets fly all over Baltimore wait until harvey the black cloud starts serving them up..ammo and whammo all around the stadium
Ra
You’ve never been to Camden Yards, clearly.
HalosHeavenJJ
If you want to see how far and fast a baseball can fly, his starts are prime viewing.
think it thru
Bottom line touched on by Robreck.
Not just Harvey but also true of every one of these ballplayers who have lost their shine. Where are they going to earn even a “paltry million dollar salary” in the REAL World? Reason enough to keep trying to reinvent themselves.
manos
At this point I think Tim Tebow has a better chance at Major League success.
Ra
Tebow is no more a player than Michael Jordan was. He sucks worse at baseball than he did at football.
Excillon
Mark Prior 2.0
Rsox
Prior was ridden to death by Dusty Baker. Harvey just had bad luck with injuries caused by carrying a huge chip on his shoulder
Lakers1
The guy could be a dominant closer.. throws hard still and would have extra mph with short inning bursts.. lincecum could’ve been dominant closers as well but wanted to be starter and now out of league
mgrap84
Damn Orioles signing these guys that are past their prime. Hope they can get something out of him and Felix Hernandez