Former Mets ace Matt Harvey, whose once-promising career has been derailed by injury and ineffectiveness, recently tried out for the Blue Jays, who viewed him as a potential reliever, reports MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
According to Heyman, the tryout occurred "several" weeks ago, and Toronto passed on signing him after "seriously" considering it.
Harvey, who burst onto the scene with the Mets in 2012, started the All-Star Game at Citi Field in 2013, and returned with a vengeance in 2015 after missing the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery, was diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome during the 2016 season.
After being diagnosed with TOS, Harvey underwent surgery for it, but he has been unable to get his career back on track since then.
Since the start of the 2017 season, Harvey has a 5.89 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in parts of three seasons with the Mets, Reds, and Angels.
Harvey was DFA'd by the Mets in July of 2018, and had a relative resurgence with the Reds that summer. In 24 starts (128 IP) for Cincinnati down the stretch, Harvey had a 4.50 ERA (4.33 FIP) and 1.25 WHIP while striking out 7.8 batters per 9. That performance helped Harvey land a one-year, $11 million deal with the Angels for 2019. But he struggled badly in Los Angeles before being released last July 23.
In 12 starts for the Angels over 59.2 IP, Harvey had a 7.09 ERA (6.35 FIP) and 1.54 WHIP while striking out a career-low 5.9 per 9.
While Harvey becoming a reliever at this stage of his career could make sense since his velocity could potentially play up in the bullpen, it should be noted that much of his struggles since having TOS surgery have been due to struggles to locate his pitches.
Whether a team takes a chance on Harvey remains to be seen, but at just 30 years old, he could have a future in the league if he rediscovers his ability to locate.
