It’s been a roller coaster of a season thus far for former ace Matt Harvey, who was bounced from the Mets starting rotation, and has had to adjust to being a reliever.
It hasn’t been an easy transition, however, as Harvey has snapped at reporters when approached for interview, and has looked underwhelming on the mound. Despite all that, general manager Sandy Alderson has faith Harvey will adapt to his new role on the team.
“[You] have to recognize it’s been a tough couple years for him and he’s an emotional guy,” Alderson said prior to Saturday’s game with the Padres. “At the same time, I think he’s accepted where he is and I would expect that he will work hard to take advantage of this opportunity to improve and just see how it goes.”
Harvey has allowed two runs over three innings out of the bullpen so far. The Mets hope the move to the ‘pen will help him work his way back to being an effective Major League starter.
“I haven’t been unhappy with the two outings,” Alderson said. “He made a couple of mistakes with two outs his first outing, came back with a good inning. Last night, gave up a home run then got the outs. Continues to be a work in progress.”
The right-hander admitted that the preparation process has been different as a reliever, and that he is still trying to find a routine.
“I have to do more throughout the game to make sure I am ready,” Harvey said Friday. “I didn’t know when they were going to put me in. Today I didn’t do a good enough job of getting loose. It’s something I will learn from and pick up some tips.”
The one cause for concern for Harvey is the speed of his fastball.
On Friday night, his four-seam fastball averaged 92.18 miles per hour, per Brooks Baseball (via MetsMerized‘s Jacob Resnick). He has only averaged a slower fastball in one game in his career: 6/14/2017 (91.83 mph).
It will be interesting to see how Harvey’s season shakes out and whether or not he becomes an effective reliever, or even more, works his way back to being a starter.
