Should the Pittsburgh Pirates take a flyer on Matt Harvey?

Should the Pittsburgh Pirates take a flyer on Matt Harvey, recently DFA’ed by the Mets?

What a shocking turn of events for the pitcher formerly known as “The Dark Knight.”

After battling back from Tommy John surgery, fighting through adversity last season with off-the-field troubles, and having high hopes for a bounce back 2018 season, the New York Mets decided to cut ties with former face of the franchise, as Matt Harvey was designated for assignment Thursday morning.

Since 2015, Harvey has slowly fallen apart. While the average fastball velocity is there (sitting right between 94-96 miles per hour, according to FanGraphs’ velocity chart), Harvey’s stuff has lost explosion, leaving his heater on a flat plane, allowing hitters to jump all over it.

So far in the 2018 season for Harvey (four starts), the former All-Star starter has allowed 11 hits per 9.0 innings, including 2.0 homers. His ERA sits at an ugly 7.00, while his FIP sits at 5.71 on the year. It’s clear Harvey has lost his luster, but some team desperate for pitching will take a shot.

Someone like, say, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Harvey needs to get out of the New York media spotlight and head to a small market team with a good pitching coach, and a catcher that knows how to call a game. Sound a lot like the current Pirates?

Ray Searage has a long history of taking reclamation projects on the cheap and turning them into viable, productive starters for the Pirates. With the Mets having DFA’d Harvey, I can’t imagine that Harvey, who placed fourth in Cy Young voting in 2013, would cost much.

The Pirates certainly have the trading history established with the Mets, so why not take a shot on a former top-end starter?

Neal Huntington has shown time and time again that he believes in the Searage when it comes to not only developing young guys, but taking reclamation projects and salvaging their careers.

Harvey still has the stuff, but he just needs to fine tune things. That’s where Searage could come into the picture.

The only issue with a possible addition of Harvey would come in the locker room. Harvey is known to be a problem in the room, rubbing teammates and management the wrong way with his attitude. And we all should remember him getting scratched from a start because he was out all night the night before at the bar.

Would it hurt the 2018 club?

With the makeup of the 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates, you don’t want to upset the apple cart this early in the season, even when it is an addition to the room, not a subtraction, per say.

If the Pirates were to take a shot on Harvey, they’d have to have a plan for not only how to manage him and his personality, but also have a clear plan for him on how to get back to where he was as a pitcher.

Of course, that would all hinge on Harvey and his willingness to accept change.

But by refusing an option to the minors, Harvey is out of avenues in the big leagues with the Mets. Change is coming for the Dark Knight. Maybe the best spot for that change is in Pittsburgh.

It’s worth a shot.