Baltimore Orioles Seen as Possible Suitor for Pitcher Matt Harvey

The Baltimore Orioles may potentially pursue a trade for New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey. Harvey had a 6.70 ERA with the Mets last year.

The Baltimore Orioles may potentially pursue a trade for New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman on Twitter.

Harvey had a few years of top-level success in New York, including his 2013 All-Star season in which he pitched to a 2.27 ERA and a 9.64 K/9 over 178.1 innings pitched.

Unfortunately, however, injuries have been a significant problem in Harvey’s career so far. Harvey missed all of the 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John, but came back in 2015 to have another strong season, pitching to a 2.71 ERA and an 8.94 K/9 over 189.1 innings pitched.

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Harvey struggled from there on out, however, and ended up having surgery to fix a condition he was diagnosed with called thoracic outlet syndrome.

Since being diagnosed with this condition and having the surgery, Harvey has struggled significantly. Last season with the Mets, Harvey pitched to a 6.70 ERA and a 6.51 K/9 over 92.2 innings pitched. He’s also seen a progressive drop in his fastball velocity, from an average of nearly 96 MPH in 2015 to just under 94 MPH last season.

When Harvey is on, he looks good. He throws a fastball and slider most of the time, mixing in a curveball and a changeup. Here’s a look at his curveball in its top form:

If the Baltimore Orioles elect to trade for Harvey, he’ll only be a one-year rental unless they sign him to a new contract. As of now, Harvey has one year of arbitration left before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

The Baltimore Orioles are in desperate need for starting pitching, and there’s an understandable allure to someone like Harvey who’s still just 28-years-old and looked to be on track to become a Cy Young winner at some point in his career.

However, the AL East isn’t exactly the most pitching-friendly environment, and even if Harvey is able to pass the Baltimore Orioles’ famously-stringent physical to be part of a trade, it’s entirely possible that he would get lit up in Camden Yards, especially since his peripheral stats suggest that last year wasn’t all that much of an anomaly for him.

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However, if he can get healthy and get back to pre-surgery form, he would be an immediate ace on the Orioles and something the team really needs. The Mets have a lot of starting pitching, so if the Orioles can get Harvey for cheap, he might be worth a shot.