MLB teams can never have too much starting pitching.
In fact, while rotations usually have five and sometimes six pitchers, an organization must have, as a minimum, ten decent starters to navigate through injuries, ineffectiveness, trades, workload management issues, and other scenarios.
That should be the number: ten.
So far, the New York Mets have Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Carlos Carrasco, David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi, Tylor Megill, Jose Butto, and the injured Jose Quintana.
Some of them are too inconsistent or lack a certain quality to be consistently relied upon.
An SNY writer presented fans with an idea: why not bring Matt Harvey back on a minor league deal?
“Is the 2023 version of Harvey a better depth starter than Jose Butto or Joey Lucchesi? Could he be a bullpen option if starting doesn’t work? The Mets should find out. The Mets should sign Matt Harvey to a minor league deal,” SNY recently argued.
The Mets should bring Matt Harvey home https://t.co/7YN482GlFn
— Danny Abriano (@DannyAbriano) March 14, 2023
He might or might not be better than them, but if it is on a minor league deal and Harvey agreed, it doesn’t hurt to find out.
Harvey, pitching for team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, recently tossed three scoreless innings against Cuba.
He topped out at 90.2 mph and didn’t strike anyone out, though.
So yeah, he would have a lot of work to get done in order to be considered for a big league call-up.
However, what if there is still something left in his right arm?
What if he can earn a couple of ticks on his fastball as the weather gets warmer?
He was a star with the Mets between 2012 and 2015, but after the thoracic outlet syndrome, he was never the same.
The Mets should at least kick the tires on a minor league deal.
NEXT: The Mets Get Bad News On Jose Quintana
