The New York Mets announced on Tuesday afternoon that they have traded former All-Star pitcher Matt Harvey to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for catcher Devin Mesoraco.
Harvey wore out his welcome in New York by struggling again this season, which earned him a recent demotion from the starting rotation to the bullpen. He continued to struggle out of the bullpen and was asked to accept another demotion, this time to the Minor Leagues.
When Harvey refused to go down to Triple-A Las Vegas, he was designated for assignment. He will now get a fresh start in Cincinnati, who is going through a rebuild and has the worst record in all of baseball at 8-27.
The Reds rotation holds a 5.68 ERA on the season, which ranks dead last in all of baseball. Therefore, Harvey will likely get an opportunity to start right away in Cincinnati.
The Los Angeles Dodgers welcome the Reds to town for a four-game series beginning this Thursday, so with Harvey joining the club in Los Angeles, it’s possible that his first start with his new club will come at Dodger Stadium.
Overall in eight games (four starts) with the Mets this season, Harvey went 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA, 5.69 FIP and 1.56 WHIP while striking out 20 compared to nine walks in 27 innings.
Mesoraco was an All-Star for the Reds in 2014 but has since dealt with a series of injuries that have caused him to lose his starting job to Tucker Barnhart.
The Mets have already lost their top two catchers, Travis D’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki, to injury this season, so Mesoraco fills a need for them at that position.
