Fansided

5 teams who should take a chance on Matt Harvey

By Joshua Sadlock

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citi Field on April 3, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 03: Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citi Field on April 3, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 14: Pitcher Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets reacts in the dugout between innings in an MLB baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 14, 2018 at CitiField in the Queens borough of New York City. Brewers won 5-1. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Harvey
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 14: Pitcher Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets reacts in the dugout between innings in an MLB baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 14, 2018 at CitiField in the Queens borough of New York City. Brewers won 5-1. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Harvey /

2. Oakland Athletics

Finding a way to capitalize on a distressed asset? Could not be the Oakland Athletics. Never heard of such a thing.

The 2018 A’s were a trendy pick to emerge from another rebuilding cycle this year, but the results have been mixed so far. The offense has been one of the best in the league at times, but can be inconsistent. That’s to be expected with a young core of power hitters.

What was also expected of Oakland this year was more difficulty putting together a starting rotation. The A’s currently rank 21st in the league with a 4.61 ERA — and that’s including the masterful start from Sean Manaea, who has a 1.63 ERA and a no-hitter after seven starts. Oakland is already giving retread Brett Anderson another chance. Why not grab Matt Harvey and see if either of them can stick?

The A’s were able to contend on a shoestring budget in the early 2000s thanks to their ability to develop starting pitching. That run of success with names like Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Dan Haren and Joe Blanton has not been easy to run back. Manaea is the only name out of the current crop of top-100 prospects to establish himself.

Oakland is still a great place to pitch thanks to the massive foul territory and cool breezes coming off the bay. The relative anonymity that comes with pitching for the A’s might also be good for Harvey.

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