Angels sign Matt Harvey to bolster thin starting rotation
Matt Harvey is on the move again, this time in free agency.
The veteran right-hander has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported Tuesday night.
Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan says it’s a one-year deal that could be worth up to $14 million.
Matt Harvey has a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels that could be worth up to $14 million with performance bonuses, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Deal is pending a physical. @Feinsand was first with the news.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 19, 2018
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports Harvey’s base salary will be $11 million.
Free-agent RHP Matt Harvey in agreement with #Angels on one-year, $11M deal, per @JonHeyman and @Feinsand.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 19, 2018
That’s a pretty good number for Harvey considering he hasn’t been the most consistent or reliable hurler of late. The 29-year-old right-hander posted a 4.94 ERA over 155 innings split between the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds in 2018.
Why the Angels signed Matt Harvey
The contract probably speaks more to how badly the Angels need pitching. With Garrett Richards gone, and both Shohei Ohtani and J.C. Ramirez sidelined from pitching in 2019 by Tommy John surgery, the Angels needed to add some innings this winter.
Los Angeles’ in-house options include Matt Shoemaker and Nick Tropeano, both of whom missed time with injuries last season, along with Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs. The latter two should be locked into the rotation barring injury.
Beyond that the Angels’ options are mostly young and unproven. Jaime Barria, Felix Pena and Dillon Peters all fit that bill. Each is expected to be in competition for a rotation spot this spring.
The Angels posted a 4.34 ERA among their starters last season, ranking 19th in MLB.
Matt Harvey’s tumultuous 2018
Harvey seemingly spent the entire 2018 season on the trading block, and that’s even after being traded once.
Harvey’s tumultuous tenure with the New York Mets came to a dramatic end on May 8, when New York abruptly traded him to Cincinnati following a series of disagreements and disruptions. Harvey reportedly balked at being demoted to the bullpen, then bottomed out by allowing seven runs in four relief appearances.
Harvey’s performance didn’t justify the headache for New York. For the Reds, the buy-low created a sell-high opportunity that they never cashed in on. Harvey made 24 starts for Cincinnati, posting a 4.50 ERA.
Most importantly, Harvey looked healthy in a Reds uniform. At times there were even flashes of the Matt Harvey that exploded on to the scene with a 2.53 ERA over his first 65 career starts. His average fastball velocity rose from 92.6 mph to 94.4 mph with Cincinnati, and his swinging-strike rate improved from 8.2 percent to 9.9 percent.
Both are encouraging signs for the Angels.
Injury history
The veteran right-hander has had his share of injuries too. He had Tommy John surgery following the 2013 season, which cost him the entire 2014 season and some early starts in 2015.
In 2016, Harvey required surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome between his neck and pitching shoulder. This past season marked only the third time Harvey made more than 20 starts in a season since debuting in 2012.
The injury history isn’t great, but given Harvey’s track record and age — 30 in March — he seems like a good guy for a pitching-needy team to gamble on.
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