As Hurricane Harvey wreaks havoc in Texas, another Harvey is prepared to make a showing. Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, once a rising star taking New York by storm, is now returning from the disabled list for the third time in his career with his future uncertain.
Like Derrick Rose for the Knicks last season, Harvey will have to find his way again after a serious injury. He won't be expected to become the "Dark Knight" or the ace of the staff. He just needs to be able to get outs and give his team a chance to win.
It's not like he hasn't done it before. After missing the 2014 season recovering from Tommy John, Harvey returned in 2015 pitching to a 2.71 ERA with 37 BB's and 188 K's in 189 1/3 innings pitched. However, since then, Harvey has a 5.02 ERA with 60 BB's and 130 K's in 163 innings pitched. Even more surprising, he's given up 16 HRs this season.
Harvey, now 28 years old, no longer has youth on his side. After 2018, he'll become an unrestricted free agent, assuming the Mets don't sign him to a contract extension. This is presumably Harvey's final chance in the Majors. The bar is set low. If Harvey can bounce back and pitch like a reliable 3rd or 4th man in the rotation, he can be valuable to the Mets with deGrom and Syndergaard in front of him (barring injuries), or any other team in the league. However, if he doesn't turn it around, it doesn't take a trained eye or an expert to figure out what will happen to his career if he continues to serve up homers to opposing batters.
