Washington Nationals: Should Nats consider Matt Harvey?

After recently being designated for assignment by the New York Mets, we look at whether Matt Harvey would make sense for the Washington Nationals.

In news that sent shockwaves around the league, the New York Mets designated Matt Harvey for assignment. Despite being a long-time foe of the Washington Nationals, Harvey could be an option for the Nats.

The “Dark Knight” has had a career of two halves so far. Between 2012 and 2015 he had a 2.53 ERA and 9.5 K/9. He was even the starter at his home All-Star game in 2013, while garnering Cy Young votes at season’s end.

Then came the turning point in his career. He was shut down for the season with thoracic outlet syndrome in 2016. Since then he’s had a ghastly 6.77 ERA and the Ks have disappeared with a measly 6.5 K/9.

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In the DFA process, Matt Harvey will either be traded or pass through waivers unclaimed and be released. As a potential Hail Mary, there may well be teams ready to claim him and take on the rest of his $5.6m salary for this year.

Therefore, for the Nationals to have a realistic shot at getting Harvey, they would likely need to work out a trade with the Mets. Although the cost would likely be insignificant to get him.

He would be an intriguing option for the Nats, given the tantalizing ceiling that he has. And I’m sure Harvey would love to get revenge on the Mets plenty of times by staying in the division.

But in this case, it’s probably best for the Nationals to stay away. There are huge red flags, that indicate he’s not likely to get back to the old Matt Harvey.

His velocity has fallen way off this year, with his fastball averaged just 93mph in 2018. Whereas at it’s peak during his all-star season in 2013 he averaged 97mph.

As a result of this, the percentage of balls that are hard-hit has sky-rocketed this season up to 43%. Hitters are seemingly seeing the ball a lot better off him than in the past.

Also, Gio Gonzalez, Tanner Roark and Jeremy Hellickson all have an ERAs under 3.55 so far this season. So you don’t want to bump any of those guys from the rotation for a very risky player.

Next: Turner surging this spring

It’s been quite the fall from grace for Harvey from the dominant pitcher he was at the start of his career. It will be interesting to see where he ends up, but it’s unlikely to be with a curly w on his chest.

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