Reds believe in Matt Harvey,
SAN FRANCISCO – Matt Harvey’s early outings with the Reds have provided occasional glimpses of the pitcher who earned a starting nod in the 2013 All-Star Game, such as his stretch of striking out five of the last six batters he faced last week against the Giants. In his previous start, he held the Dodgers to one harmless hit in four innings.
On the other hand, Harvey was so hittable at times against the Giants, he mistakenly thought he was tipping his pitches as he yielded seven hits to the first 13 batters.
So Cincinnati fans would be well advised to keep an open mind and expectations in check for Harvey as his tenure with the Reds unfolds.
That might be expected considering Harvey has endured two major surgeries — one to repair a torn elbow ligament in 2013, the other one to relieve symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome in 2016 — in addition to a shoulder injury that sidelined him for seven weeks last year.
At 29, he’s unlikely to ever regain the overpowering form that once made him the toast of New York City.
But Harvey has seen enough of his old self to believe he’s not far from succeeding again. He has felt that way since he made his last start for the Mets on April 19, before they sent him and his bloated ERA to the bullpen, eventually trading him to the Reds on May 8.
And Harvey gained even more confidence after an ingame mechanical adjustment helped keep his front shoulder from opening up too soon that resulted in his finishing flourish against San Francisco.
“It’s a huge step forward,” Harvey said after giving up three runs and seven hits over four innings in Cincinnati’s 6-3 victory. “When I can execute pitches and get them swinging at stuff out of the zone or really feel the ball jump out of my hand and sneak up on the catcher, that’s when I really know I’m in the right direction.”
Harvey registered a 2.53 ERA while striking out an average of more than a batter per inning over 65 starts in his first three seasons with the Mets, but, entering his first home start with the Reds this week, he had gone 9-19 since 2015 and his collective ERA skyrocketed to 5.84 in the last three years as injuries took their toll.
He said the bad habits he developed in compensating for weakness in his pitching shoulder led to the mechanical flaws and loss of velocity. He addressed those issues even before arriving in Cincinnati, then again with Reds interim pitching coach Danny Darwin, but sometimes they crop up again.
“Warming up everything’s in line, then you get into game mode and battle mode, and sometimes you can revert to bad habits,” Harvey said.
Harvey doesn’t overwhelm hitters anymore, but he doesn’t throw slop either. His fastball sits at 94 mph and touches 96, and his slider remains an effective weapon. Against the Giants, he generated eight swings and misses, six more than against the Dodgers, and five came on the slider.
This, then, is a superior pitcher than the one the Mets tried to demote to the minors, then finally discarded when he refused after putting up a 7.00 ERA in 27 innings.
“He’s in the process of getting in shape, but you look at the velo and it was pretty good,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s healthy. I think you look at that more than anything. He just needs to get out there and pitch.”
He’ll get plenty of chances to do that for the last-place Reds, who for the third year in a row ranked among the bottom two teams in the National League in ERA. And Harvey will perform in a much more sedate environment.
The rebuilding Reds, who gave up catcher Devin Mesoraco and cash in the trade, are under no illusions Harvey’s the longterm answer to their perennial pitching woes.
Ideally, Harvey, a free agent at the end of the season, could bolster the pitching staff and build up his value enough to draw interest from a contender before the July 31 trade deadline.
“We’re looking at him more opportunistically,” general manager Dick Williams said. “It was a bit of a reclamation project because the current perception of his performance has been down, so we definitely right now view it as a chance to create a positive arbitrage. If he plays well, it helps us win and then may create one of those assets that we can figure out how it best helps us going forward.”