After 5 complete seasons in Queens, the Mets have chosen to trade starting pitcher and former ace, Matt Harvey, to the Cincinnati Reds. After a few years in the minor leagues, he shifted to the majors, where he eventually pitched in the 2015 World Series, a devastating loss for Mets fans everywhere. The 2015 season was the closest the New York team has gotten to the national championship since 2000 when they last appeared in the World Series.
The Mets have not won a World Series since the 1986 season when MLB studs like Darryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez made their mark on the franchise. Year after year, dedicated Mets fans hang on to their hope and wish for a long-awaited World Series title.
Matt Harvey has had many good seasons playing for the Mets, but when recently given the option of a minor-league contract, he quickly declined. This action is within his rights as a player, not to mention a very well-known one. While his character was most definitely questioned following his decision, it’s hard to comprehend such a shift after what has been a successful career for him for the most part.
Within hours before the first pitch of the Mets-Reds series in Ohio, Mickey Callaway came out from the shadows and made a big move to say the very least, trading a long-time veteran for scrappy catcher, Devin Mesoraco.
As Mesoraco was evidently thrown into the mix, he is now batting sixth in the Mets lineup, and his New York debut happened to be against his former team. Although baseball is a business, this does not make it any less emotionally compromising for the players involved.
Mesoraco traveled to the Great American Ballpark that day wearing a Reds Jersey, and later that night left the stadium wearing an entirely different one. It’s unlikely that the transition for Mesoraco will be easy, but as professionals, they are trained to adapt to changes like this. Plus, with Kevin Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud on the disabled list, the Mets could use a fresh new catcher in their lineup (even though Mesoraco is known to injure easily).
Matt Harvey has gotten older as time has gone on, and some would say that this is noticeable in his gameplay and that his best days are behind him. Additionally, Harvey has appeared at the center of several publicity stunts, therefore portraying himself and his at-the-time franchise in a bad light. Having said that, I’m hopeful that the release of Harvey will help the Mets stay away from bad press, and enable them to focus on the development of their bullpen after this loss in their core rotation.
