Matt Harvey’s downward trending career took a tick up yesterday when he signed a minor-league deal with the Kansas City Royals. Is the Dark Knight back?
Matt Harvey‘s journey through professional baseball has now taken him to his fourth major league team and city. With perseverance and a stroke of luck, Harvey could be making starts later this summer with the Kansas City Royals.
Is that glimmer of light shining at the end of a long road traveled since the glory days when the Dark Knight captured the attention of New York City and all of baseball – is this enough to motivate Matt Harvey?
Or, will we see a repeat of Cincinnati and Los Angeles with a storyline that never gets off the ground?
Matt Harvey: A Near Perfect Fit On The Royals
Over his 31 years on this planet, decision making cannot be counted as one of Matt Harvey’s strengths. His story is dotted with numerous bouts with egoism, immature behavior, and stubbornness that drew people away when the well-intentioned advice of many was tossed aside.
The litany of Matt Harvey’s road to self-destruction, while he was with the Mets in New York, has been well documented (search Reflections On Baseball for stories), and we won’t be rehashing anything today.
But if, as rumored, the Minnesota Twins were keen on signing Harvey, and he decided instead to go with the Royals, Harvey, this time, made a sound decision.
At the moment, the Royals are down to two-and-a-half healthy starters in their rotation. Both Brad Keller and Jakob Junis were knocked out of action due to COVID-19 infections during spring training 2.0.
Danny Duffy and Mike Montgomery are set to go, but Keller is substantially behind as he builds up arm strength on his way back from the virus.
After that, the door is wide open for Matt Harvey to take the ball the Royals will willingly hand to him, and run with it. The challenge for Harvey is to step up the throwing program he was on this winter. Physically, he’s okay and in good shape.
Matt Harvey: The Receiver Of More Good Fortune
As opposed to the Minnesota Twins, a team forecasted to win the AL Central division with a good chance of going deep into the playoffs; the Royals are everyone’s prediction to finish last again in the same division.
For Matt Harvey, this means the pressure is off, and that can only help what is probably a very fragile ego at the moment.
The competition Harvey will be facing in the Royals minor league camp is stiff enough to keep him on edge.
With rosters fluctuating almost daily, as well as MLB mandated roster cuts throughout all of August, it’s a given that Harvey will be facing major league talent in each of his tune-ups.
The Last Stop On The Comeback Road
No one can say for sure, but it’s hard to imagine there is another opportunity for Matt Harvey if things go awry in Kansas City. No one can say (either) where Harvey’s “head” is at this juncture.
For some, the battle would be a matter of survival, and all the stops would be pulled to ensure that when all is done, and things haven’t worked for the better, the storyline reads, “He gave his best, it just wasn’t good enough.” Is this the player we can expect to see?
Soon, we’ll know where Matt Harvey, assuming he can stay free of injury, fits in that scenario. And is there a flutter of light shining on the Dark Knight that changes everything – this one last time?
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
