New York Mets: Matt Harvey had to go to the bullpen but it could blow up

Matt  Harvey to the bullpen could blow up in the New York Mets faces.

What a fall from grace for former New York Mets ace Matt Harvey. It used to be a special day at Citi Field when Harvey took the mound, now he has become a liability. Opponents are no longer intimidated when Harvey takes to the hill every five days. After giving up six runs on eight hits in six innings against the Atlanta Braves on April 19th, Mickey Callaway announced that Harvey was heading to the bullpen and wouldn’t commit to another start for Harvey.

Matt Harvey is not happy about the move. He believes he is a starting pitcher and doesn’t want to be anything else. It’s commendable in that he shouldn’t be OK with giving up his spot. Harvey still has the competitive fire, which is good. Our guy John Carroll was right, Harvey to the bullpen was the right move. Callaway had no choice.

However, the move being right doesn’t necessarily mean that the move is going to work. On its face, it sounds like a move that should be brilliant. A hard-throwing right-handed pitcher coming into a game should be able to blow hitters away. The idea of Matt Harvey out of the bullpen in the mid to late innings makes sense on paper. It also makes sense as Harvey can put innings in. He is a guy that could make a difference in a long extra inning game.

The problem is the numbers in 2018 don’t play out for a successful relief pitcher. So far in 2018, Harvey’s ERA in the first inning is 11.25. It then drops, but only to 6.75 for the second and the third inning. His ERA only drops to a reason 4.50 in the fourth inning. If that trend continues he would blow up any game he were to enter as a relief pitcher.

Next: Potential relief rotation

Now some of that could change with a change of mindset. If Harvey were to go into more of an “attack” mode upon entering the game he could improve that number. But as we talked about earlier, he doesn’t even see himself as a reliever so expecting him to get into that mindset is going to be easier said than done. But a reliever can’t have an ERA of 11 when he enters the game.

That simply won’t get it done. If Matt Harvey can’t get the job done out of the bullpen, the once ace could find himself buried on the back of the bench. That’s one long fall for a former ace.