By Zach Gewelb
The Dark Knight is now working a little later.
The Mets pulled Matt Harvey from the stating rotation last week, placing him in the bullpen in a move the team hopes will help its former ace turn things around. Harvey simply hasn’t been a good pitcher since undergoing surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome in 2016.
He had a down year in 2017 and has struggled early this season, pitching to an 0-2 record with a 6.00 ERA in four starts spanning 21 innings. While he has recorded 17 strikeouts and walked just four batters in those 21 innings, Harvey has been hit hard, allowing opposing batters to hit to a .302 average.
Despite his poor performance, Harvey, being the fierce competitor that he is, was ticked off about his demotion.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, I obviously am at a 10 with being pissed off,” Harvey told reporters last weekend. “But my performance hasn’t been there, so I have to do whatever I have to to get back in the starting rotation and that’s, right now, go to the bullpen and work on some things. I have to get back where I need to be, get my sh-t in order and figure it out.”
The decision to delegate Harvey to the pen wasn’t made lightly, according to Mets manager Mickey Callaway.
“It’s a big decision,” Callaway said. “Matt Harvey has pitched some meaningful games for the Mets in his career and he’s done some special things and I knew it wasn’t going to be the most comfortable conversation. It’s a tough message, but it sounds like he is going to embrace it and go out there and get the job done.”
The move to the bullpen could be a blessing in disguise for Harvey, who has a history of using his emotion to fuel his success on the mound. Perhaps the demotion will serve as a kick in the rear end and force Harvey to up his game.
Aside for the revenge factor, Harvey’s stuff may actually play better out of the bullpen. He may be able to add some more velocity to his fastball, knowing he can empty the tank in one or two innings of relief as opposed to saving his stuff for a five or six-inning start. His off-speed offerings should also be sharper out of the pen.
The bottom line is that with the return of free agent signing Jason Vargas — who has been out since the beginning of Spring Training with an injury to his non-pitching hand — someone needed to be removed from the rotation. There was zero chance Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom were going to be removed from the rotation, while Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler have each pitched better than Harvey this season, making Harvey the most logical choice to move to the bullpen.
Harvey has every right to be “pissed off,” though he has only himself to blame for his lack of success this season. He has given the Mets some great seasons and led the team on a memorable run to the World Series in 2015. But that’s in the past.
It’s clear Harvey isn’t the pitcher he once was. He needs to come to terms with that and do whatever is necessary to better himself. The Mets have played great so far in 2018, and a motivated Harvey dominating from the bullpen would greatly improve the team’s postseason odds.
Reach reporter Zach Gewelb by e-mail at zgewe
