Matt Harvey: All questions, no answers

Here we are, the third week of May, and Matt Harvey has a 5.77 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. He’s torching your ratios. He’s frustrating you every five days. We know all the right questions, but it’s hard to find answers.

The Nationals kicked Harvey around Thursday night, collecting nine runs (six earned), knocking the Mets ace out in the third inning. New York’s shoddy defense didn’t help.

Let’s be fair about this, Washington’s offense doesn’t present a nightmare matchup, not in 2016. The Nats are 19th in weighted on-base average, 19th in weighted runs created, 19th in offensive WAR. For all the wonderful stuff we say about Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy (homer Thursday), this is a lineup with holes all over it.

At some point, someone on the Mets going to blame the mechanics. That’s what pitchers do, that’s what coaches do, that’s what organizational mouthpieces do. It’s the mechanics, right?

And when any big-name pitcher slumps, we always worry about possible injury. Harvey’s average fastball is 94.0 mph this year, almost two full ticks down from last year. His swinging strike rate is the lowest of his career. Strikeouts are down a bit, walks up, exit velocity is way up. Batters are cranking line drives 29.2 percent of the time against Harvey, which sounds absurd.

Maybe he’s not sick, but he’s definitely not well.

There’s been some talk of Harvey skipping his next start, a reasonable plan of attack. Take a step away, take a break, reevaluate. Work on those mechanics. Run some tests. Take a deep breath. No one wins a trophy in May, anyway.

I don’t own any Harvey shares in 2016, but that’s just a happy accident. I expected all four of the Mets aces to be strong pitchers this year; I certainly would have rubber stamped your Harvey selection. His comeback season last year passed the eye test and the stat test. If I had any fear about Harvey, it’s only the type of fear I have for all pitchers, athletes asked to do an unnatural act over and over, often until it breaks down their body. Gravity usually wins.

Harvey’s probably a forced owned in most fantasy leagues. That’s not exciting advice, but I don’t see another path. His trade value is collapsed so much at the moment, I can’t advocate a sell-low. Your best angle is probably to hope he comes out of this, even if it's just for a start or two — then you can think of selling when the price has rebounded, some. I know plenty of Mets fans, how about you?

If you’re getting decent trade offers right this moment, toss them out in the comments. I’ll give my two cents, if you want them. Is there a market in your league? How are your leaguemates handling Harvey Danger?

• While the East Coast was dealing with Harvey’s mess and fallout, the Bay Area had a different problem to sort through. Josh Reddick, off to a terrific start for the Athletics, is going to be down for a while. He busted his left thumb on a head-first slide (gotta stop those head first slides, man) and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Reddick’s been an easy profit player through the first quarter of the season, off to a .322-21-5-18-4 start. He collected a home run and a steal in Thursday’s loss to the Yankees — he was actually hurt on the stolen base. It’s a shame to see Reddick go down because the lineup was starting to come together, with Danny Valencia healthy again and Khris Davis in a groove.

The rehab time isn’t the only problem with Reddick, or cases like him. When we ultimately returns, we have to worry about timing coming back. When I hear a timetable like 4-6 weeks, I usually start with the higher end as my assumption, and then I’ll add some time for sharpness. I’m not fooling myself into thinking there’s an eager Reddick trade market, but if I could liquidate my Reddick shares for 70-80 percent right now, I’d strongly consider it.

I’m generally the pessimist when it comes to a return from a long-term injury. Season to taste. Your mileage may vary.

If you’re looking for an outfield-eligible to replace Reddick, here are some guys I recommend (in no particular order):

- Rajai Davis (19 percent, going off at top of Cleveland order)

- Steve Pearce (23 percent, covers three spots, rebounding to 2014 form)

- Leonys Martin (five percent, five homers, five steals, little respect)

- Adam Duvall (17 percent, an average risk but power is legit)

- Trayce Thompson (seven percent, pushing more for time in LA)

- Danny Santana (four percent, does one thing but does it quite well)

• 

For most of his meandering pro career, Junior Guerra has been racking up frequent flier miles and passport stamps. On Thursday against the front-running Cubs, strikeouts were on his mind.

Guerra’s fourth start for Milwaukee was certainly an eye-catcher: 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 11 K, and his third victory. It comes on the heels of six clean innings against San Diego. He allowed four runs over six innings in each of his first two starts.

Most of his decade-long baseball career has been spent in various minor-league parks and busses, along with extensive international play. Heck, Guerra was a catcher back when he originally signed as a teenager. He didn’t make his major-league debut until a cup of coffee last year with the White Sox. That's perseverance for you.

When Guerra stopped the Padres last week, it wasn't a big story. But 11 punchouts against the Cubs, that gets your attention. His next start comes conveniently in Atlanta, the best target in the majors. Point and click, steam police. If you’d like more of a Guerra scouting report, Kyle Lesniewski has some notes here. Maybe there's some deep-league value to be had.