Colorado Rockies: Why picking up Matt Harvey isn’t crazy

On Friday, the New York Mets officially designated former starting pitcher Matt Harvey for assignment. The final straw was that Harvey wasn’t willing to head to New York’s Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas. Could this DFA present an opportunity for the Colorado Rockies?

The DFA comes as no surprise to most as Harvey had an ERA of 7.00 in just 27 innings. This led the Mets to move him to the bullpen which, of course, Harvey wasn’t too ecstatic about. It was one of a string of incidents where the Mets and Harvey had had a difference of opinion. None of the subsequent moves seemed to get his mojo back either. 

Of course, we can’t look over the fact that Harvey has essentially been out of control outside of baseball for a while. It’s just now coming to the forefront. The difference this year was that there may have been an effect on his outings due to his lifestyle choices. Perhaps this is why his last good year was in 2015 as he was also an All-Star that year. It doesn’t help with the stellar pitching rotation the Mets have. It essentially makes him look like the weakest link in the rotation. Though if Harvey were in Colorado would he be the weakest link?

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Now let’s get to the part of this article where you ask me what in the heck am I thinking. Well, I’m thinking that it’s unfortunate that the Mets had to move on from Harvey.

However, it’s an opportunity for other teams (like the Rockies) to perhaps pick him up. Colorado’s rotation is currently in the middle of one of the best streaks in franchise history … but could someone like Harvey be a reinforcement for later in the season when help might be needed? 

Harvey could come on as an older veteran and, with a change in environment, could potentially be a boost. Yes, it’s a roll of the dice, but he’s only 29 so he’s probably got a few more years left in the tank.

One thing you can’t look over with Harvey is he does have a nice postseason resume. This could come in handy as the Rockies continue on their path to contention. 

So what could happen to the rotation if Harvey was picked up? If the experiment worked and Harvey would once again find his mojo, the Rockies could almost go with a six-man rotation or skip an arm who might face fatigue. That arm also might have to move to the bullpen and take on a role similar to Antonio Senzatela or Chris Rusin with middle relief. Yes, one of the bullpen arms would likely have to go back to Triple-A to make this work, but there are ways to make it happen and effective and save some of the innings from starters as the season goes along.

Of course, this is only hypothetical as to most Major League teams will see Matt Harvey as a huge risk … but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a second chance. He’s only 29 so there’s still hope that with the few years he has left that he can find his way back to being the All-Star caliber player he was back in 2015.

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If so, the Colorado Rockies would have a secret weapon on their hands. Sometimes a change in scenery can go a long way for players and a move to the Mountain time zone could make a difference for Harvey.