‘Dark Knight’ starting over with Reds
On his first official day as a Cincinnati Red, former phenom Matt Harvey sought to place a lid over his tumultuous tenure with his previous employer.
“After today, I’d like to not talk about my past experiences with the Mets,” Harvey said inside the visitors dugout at Dodger Stadium. “I’d like to move forward with my new organization, and do everything I can to help them.”
His new chapter will begin Friday, when Harvey (0-2, 7.00 earned-run average) will start against the Dodgers. It will be his first appearance in a game since May 3, when he gave up five runs as a mop-up reliever. A day later, the New York Mets asked Harvey to accept an assignment to the minor leagues. Harvey refused, so the Mets designated him for assignment and eventually traded him to the Reds.
The Dodgers will be the first team to get a crack at Harvey as he attempts to resurrect his career. He started the All-Star game for the National League in 2013 and starred during the 2015 playoffs, but a combination of injuries, ineffectiveness and off-field concerns sideswiped his career.
Harvey has undergone two major surgeries since the summer of 2013.
He required elbow ligament reconstruction later that season. He had thoracic outlet surgery in the summer of 2016. He was still dealing with the effects of that procedure this season, according to his agent, Scott Boras. His average fastball velocity dropped from 95.9 mph in 2015 to 92.6 mph this season, according to FanGraphs.
As his performance waned, Harvey’s extracurricular exploits grew less tolerable for the Mets. Harvey did not spend long in the spotlight, but he made the most of it.
In 2013, Sports Illustrated dubbed him “The Dark Knight of Gotham” and Harvey grew to live his gimmick. He became a character in the city’s robust tabloid culture. He dated models and praised Derek Jeter for his romantic exploits. He sparred with Mets officials over the protocols for his rehab from surgery. He showed up late to a workout before the Mets faced the Dodgers in the 2015 playoffs. The Mets suspended him last season after Harvey went missing before a game.
“I think the off-the-field stuff, I’m not going to discuss any of that stuff,” Harvey said. “I think a lot of things get blown out of proportion.”
A few days before his end with the Mets, Harvey snapped at a group of reporters who asked to talk to him. He was far more cordial Thursday.
“There’s been a lot of rough times in the last couple weeks,” Harvey said. “Actually, the last couple years. The injuries and not having success, and really working through a lot of adversity in that sense. It’s easy to just give up, and not go out there and work at your craft.
“Obviously, at times, there were some pretty negative thoughts going through my head about where my career was. But I think fighting through that and throwing the ball the way I have been in between outings, it’s in there. It just needs to come out.”
Ace plays catch
Soon after Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he wasn’t sure when Clayton Kershaw would pick up a baseball again, Kershaw played a light round of catch Thursday. Kershaw had completed a similar task Wednesday, throwing for the first time since landing on the disabled list Sunday because of biceps tendonitis. The Dodgers have yet to reveal a timetable for Kershaw’s return.
He can be activated off the disabled list Wednesday, when the Dodgers will be in Miami.
Roberts did not hear many details about Kershaw regarding the first round of catch Wednesday.
“He said it felt OK,” Roberts said. “Didn’t say it felt great, didn’t say it felt bad. I think ‘fine’ might have been the word he used. So I didn’t want to dig and try to get too much from him.”
Short hop
Justin Turner (fractured wrist) took part in a simulated game for the second day in a row. He and Logan Forsythe (shoulder fatigue) are expected to appear in rehab games this weekend, with the Dodgers hoping to activate them next week. Roberts said that he was unsure whether Turner and Forsythe would rehab with class-A Rancho Cucamonga or triple-A Oklahoma City.