The New York Mets essentially dumped Matt Harvey onto the
Cincinnati Reds after designating him for assignment earlier in the year. The
Mets wanted rid of the headache, and presumably the contract if at all
possible, while the Reds acquired him with the hopes of building his trade
value back up for a meaningful trade before the July 31st trade
deadline. The Mets took on Devin Mesoraco who makes more than twice as much as
Harvey, although the Reds did send cash back to offset the difference, while
the Reds have been successful in establishing some value for Harvey, a value
that will see the former All-Star and Mets product in the Bronx by the end of
the month in my opinion.
Go ahead and laugh, make your jokes about Harvey in New York
and how he won’t be the missing piece to the Yankees World Series puzzle. I’ll
call your sarcastic chuckle and raise you a few stats that may open your eyes
to the possibility just a bit. Since joining the Reds the former Mets
right-hander has pitched to a 4-3 record with a 3.86 ERA including a 3-0 record
with a 1.47 ERA in his last three starts. The command is back, the filthy
pitching is back, and so is the velocity after peaking at 97.2 MPH in his last
start. Harvey is fresh off a start in which he shutdown and shutout the NL
Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers for 5.2 innings, only leaving the game
because of a 54-minute rain delay.
Harvey is a free agent at the end of the season and, fiscally
anyway, he would fit into the Yankees plans for the 2018 season. If he could
pitch like he did back in his hay day with the Mets, then he fits into the
Yankees plans for the 2018 season in so many other ways. Harvey would be and
likely would be much better than Sonny Gray at this point and would give the
Yankees another veteran arm to help their march towards the postseason.
What would the Reds want in exchange for Harvey? What any
young and rebuilding teams wants, pitching. Enter Jonathan Loaisiga who has
been being showcased for the Yankees over the past couple of weeks including
this week inside Yankee Stadium against the Atlanta Braves. Would the Reds be
willing to do a one-for-one swap? I can only presume, but my presumption would
be that they would be willing to make the swap. Loaisiga is a young and
controllable starting pitcher that is MLB ready, obviously, which would check a
lot of boxes for the Reds. This may anger some Yankees fans, myself included,
but we must remember that this is a business and that Brian Cashman is not as
attached to these young guys as we are. He will make the move if the Reds allow
him to pull the trigger for Loaisiga, you can bet on it.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)