Matt Harvey (Bill Kostroun/Associated Press)
Guess Matt Harvey should have taken that minor demotion after all.
The New York Mets were frustrated with Matt Harvey but still believed he could be a Major League ace on the mound. They just wanted him to work on his game in the minors. A half-dozen starts showing his old stuff and Harvey would have been back in the bigs before the All-Star break. Or maybe not.
But the former Carolina pitcher pulled out a copy of his contract and threw it back at the Mets, particularly the clause that said he did not have to take a demotion and that he could be waived or traded instead. The Mets wanted something in return.
So Harvey winds up with the Cincinnati Reds, perhaps the worst team in both leagues with a 9-27 record after their third win in the last 10 games against, you guessed it, the Mets! The small Red Machine’s starting rotation needs plenty of help and Harvey will get ample opportunity to fix what is broken.
Harvey’s fall is like a black comedy for the Dark Knight, once the toast of New York who was once rumored to be going to the Red Sox for Mookie Betts, who has since become a perennial MVP contender while Harvey has fallen off Planet Mound. Tommy John surgery didn’t help, but Harvey’s arrogance hurt him as much as allowing 21 home runs in 78 innings this season.
So the Mets made a trade that equals a minor league demotion because the Reds are so bad and they play in the Great American Ballpark, which is a hitter’s paradise. If Harvey doesn’t get his groove back, it will likely be his last hurrah in the Majors.
Plus, trading New York for Cincy with someone who likes the nightlife as much as Harvey is a different kind of purgatory. He may find his new city so dull that he will actually be in bed by a decent hour, which ironically could help his comeback attempt. It’s like Harvey being back on the first couple of bad Mets teams, without anywhere to go to celebrate a rare win.
The Mets actually came out a winner in the trade they did not want to make. The get a catcher who is better than anyone they currently have in Devin Mesoraco, who only four seasons ago was on the ballot for MVP in the National League and played for the last Reds team to have a winning record.
With a chance to resurrect his career in the Big Apple, it’s like Christmas in May for Mesoraco. For Harvey, it’s like going to a darker place for the once-shimmering Dark Knight.
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