Mets must face reality and part ways with Matt Harvey
For the New York Mets and erstwhile ace Matt Harvey, it’s time for a new beginning.
Not that long ago, the New York Mets thought they had the makings of one of the great rotations of all time. And it wasn’t crazy to think they were right.
Noah Syndergaard, Jacob DeGrom and Matt Harvey led New York to the 2015 National League pennant. Each had All-Star talent. Each was good enough to be an ace. And each was 27 or younger.
Add top prospect Steven Matz to the mix last year, and the Mets looked to be set on the mound for a long, long time.
It hasn’t worked out that way.
• Matz was shut down in September with a sore shoulder after making 22 starts in 2016. He hasn’t pitched in 2017 due to a strained flexor tendon. Mets officials reportedly are growing uneasy “with the trajectory of Matz’s career.”
• deGrom’s 2016 also ended early after he underwent surgery on his ulnar nerve. He has been healthy this season and even leads the NL is strikeouts. But he has not been able to match the performance that made him Rookie of the Year in 2014 and an All-Star in 2015.
• Syndergaard, who entered the season as a favorite to win the NL Cy Young award, suffered a partial tear of his right lat muscle and won’t be back until late July at the earliest.
• And Harvey, well, Harvey’s a mess. Forget for a minute the three-game suspension he served for violating team rules: The Dark Knight simply hasn’t been very good the past two seasons.
Harvey struggled throughout 2016 (4-10, 4.86 ERA) before opting to have season-ending surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome. He has a 5.14 ERA in six games this season.
And that was before he failed to show up for a game Saturday, possibly because he was out all night drinking.
Harvey once represented the future for the Mets. He started the All-Star Game at Citi Field. He made viral videos with Jimmy Fallon. He dated models.
He was the king of New York, Batman to Alex Rodriguez’s Joker.
Now the former first-round pick is the joke. He represents all that’s got wrong with a rotation — and an organization— that was riding high less than two years ago.
Make no mistake, the Mets won’t get much for Harvey on the trade market (especially not, uh, Mike Trout. Seriously?)
Still, the team’s best move at this point is to find a team that needs starting pitching and try to unload Harvey for whatever they can get. He is under contract through 2019, so some contender that needs pitching help (hello, Orioles?) may roll the dice.
Next: Top 30 MLB breakout stars in 2017
Given the apparent lack of respect for Harvey in his own clubhouse and his long-standing discomfort with New York’s tabloid press, it is not a bad time to cut bait on a season that already looks lost.
Divorce is never easy, but sometimes it’s necessary.