Matt Harvey on free agency: 'There's only one team out there I would not sign with'
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Matt Harvey made his final start of the 2018 season Tuesday night. With free agency fast approaching, Harvey told C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic that he’ll consider offers from almost every single team.
That “almost” is key, because Harvey made it pretty clear only 29 teams would have the opportunity to sign him during the winter.
Matt Harvey said he was open to just about anything in free agency, but… "There's only one team out there I would not sign with, that's about it."
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) September 26, 2018
The 29-year-old Harvey told Rosecrans, “There’s only one team out there I would not sign with, that’s about it.”
We don’t imagine this one is going to go down as one of baseball’s biggest offseason mysteries. Anyone who has followed Harvey’s career can probably guess the team he was talking about here.
The team in question is almost certainly Harvey’s former club, the New York Mets. While Harvey’s tenure with the team looked promising at the start, injuries wrecked his on-field performance and his nightlife habits became a popular target of the New York tabloids. Harvey also feuded with the club. He was suspended by the team in 2017 after skipping a game.
After struggling mightily at start the 2018 season with the Mets, Harvey was traded to the Reds in May. He was better in Cincinnati, posting a 4.46 ERA over 123 innings. That performance was an upgrade compared to his numbers in recent years, but still a far cry from the player who took the baseball world by storm from 2012 to 2014.
Despite his recent struggles, Harvey should draw some interest on the free-agent market. The Mets don’t have to worry about making that call, though they probably weren’t jazzed about a reunion with Harvey either.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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