The New York Mets have a Matt Harvey problem.
The big right-hander seems to fancy himself a hard-throwing cowboy, but so far this season, Harvey’s shooting blanks.
Harvey was roughed up by the Washington Nationals on Thursday night in a way he’s never been roughed up before. The 27-year-old allowed nine runs — six earned — in just 2 2/3 innings of work.
The Nationals exploded for seven in the third inning, during which Mets manager Terry Collins put Harvey out of his misery, removing the pitcher from the game as he exited to a chorus of boos from the Citi Field crowd.
To say the 2016 season has been a struggle for Harvey would be an understatement. Thursday’s start caused Harvey’s ERA to balloon to 5.77, and after averaging more than a strikeout per inning for the first 65 starts of his career, Harvey has 43 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings this season. His 2.8 walks per nine innings is also a walk higher than his 2015 rate.
Now the Mets are toying with the idea of skipping Harvey in the rotation.
“We’re going to take a look — is that best for him, is that best for us?” Colllins told reporters after the game, per ESPN.com. “We’re not going to commit to anything at this time. But I will tell you, as I sit here today, I’d certainly trust him. I certainly believe in him. I hadn’t seen him struggle like this before. But that guy that pitched tonight for them (Stephen Strasburg), he had a couple of mediocre years, and now he’s resurged.”
The Mets also insisted Harvey isn’t dealing with an injury. Harvey missed the entire 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, whereas Strasburg missed most of the 2011 season. Strasburg bounced back in 2012 and was an All-Star, but never really lived up to the hype that came with being one of the top pitching prospects in at least the last 20 years. Strasburg, however, looks like he’s figured it out. He’s 7-0 this season with a 2.80 ERA and 75 strikeouts in just 61 innings of work.
The difference between the two, however, might stem from the workload in the season after surgery. Harvey logged 216 innings last season including the playoffs, the most for any pitcher ever coming off Tommy John. As a point of reference, Strasburg pitched 159 1/3 innings in his first season after the surgery with the Nationals infamously shutting him down in the middle of the season amid a playoff push.
Thumbnail photo via Noah K. Murray/USA TODAY Sports Images
