Matt Harvey Hints He Has No Interest In Return To New York Mets

Given the wild ride that this 2018 season has been for the New York Mets, it would be hard to blame fans who forgot that Matt Harvey was a part of the team at one point. Harvey got demoted out of the rotation in April and was gone by early May, sent to the Cincinnati Reds in a trade for Devin Mesoraco. The Reds have held onto Harvey for the rest of the season, and he has gone 7-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 24 starts in Cincinnati, perhaps rebuilding a bit of value ahead of free agency this winter. Harvey will be looking for a new home this winter, but he hinted yesterday that there are places he won’t go.

C. Trent Rosecrans, the Reds’ beat writer for the Athletic, got the following quote from Harvey yesterday (see this tweet for the full context):

“There’s only one team out there I would not sign with, that’s about it.”

You don’t need to read too far between the lines to figure out that Harvey is talking about the Mets here. The relationship between Harvey and the team was never strong even when he was pitching well, and it completely deteriorated over the past several years. Harvey spoke to the New York media when the Reds visited Citi Field last month and indicated that he regretted the mistakes he made while he was a member of the Mets. In that same session, Harvey also said that he put his heart into the organization, but that was likely a case of simply not trying to stir up controversy for no reason.

As a free agent, Harvey is free to go where he pleases, and it’s not surprising that the Mets are out of his future plans. The Mets likely wouldn’t show any interest in a reunion with Harvey either, especially since their rotation is full and they need to focus their attention on fixing the bullpen and lineup over the winter. Harvey will likely end up getting a one year prove it deal with a team to try and rebuild his value as his showing with the Reds hasn’t shown enough to demonstrate that Harvey is worthy of a multi-year contract. That deal won’t come from the Mets in news that should shock absolutely no one that has followed the Harvey situation in recent years.