Former Mets hurler Matt Harvey has found his way back into the news on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old is currently pitching in the Athletics' farm system after signing a minor-league deal with them this season. And he's not pitching bad with a 3.60 ERA over three starts thus far.
But Harvey doesn't sound content about staying in the minors, as the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser is reporting Harvey may opt out of his deal with the A's.
Harvey can opt-out of his contract on Thursday, and that would allow any team in contention this season to scoop him up if they want for pitching depth. But Harvey doesn't want to be subjected to the bullpen, as remaining a starter is his prerogative.
That didn't work out, though, with the Angels earlier this season. In 12 starts, he owned a 7.09 ERA and 6.34 FIP over 59.2 innings, which forced Anaheim to let him go. It would be hard for a team to trust Harvey in that role, especially when it becomes crunch time heading toward and in the postseason.
Maybe a bullpen role wouldn't be so bad. Harvey has the postseason experience after the Mets' World Series run in 2015, so he knows what it takes to pitch in those pressure-cooker situations.
As for which teams would be interested in Harvey, it isn't quite known, but the Mets would definitely be a stretch. The A's could very well call him up as they make a playoff push, but they may not want to change their winning formula at the moment either.
It would be a pretty big risk for Harvey, but after all he's been through since that 2015 run, why not? The minor league season will be coming to an end soon, and Harvey clearly still has his eyes set on the bigs.