New York Mets need to pull the plug on Matt Harvey

Matt Harvey had one last chance to prove he belonged in the starting rotation. After his disastrous outing on Thursday, the New York Mets have no choice but to pull the plug.

With Jason Vargas looming, and ready to claim his place in the New York Mets starting rotation, all eyes were on Matt Harvey during his outing on Thursday. As he had struggled in his previous two outings this season, and had not been the same pitcher since the 2015 postseason, Harvey needed to show something in that outing.

Well, he did show something, just not what he wanted. Harvey was battered in the first part of the game, surrendering six runs over his first seven outs. He did manage to settle down, and retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced, but the damage was done. As pitching coach Dave Eiland said to MLB.com, the game starts in the first inning, not the fourth.

Naturally, for his part, Harvey is maintaining that he is a starting pitcher. He feels that his success over the final three innings shows that he is still capable of being a starter, that he got through whatever mental block was keeping him from success. It may well be possible that, when he was unable to record those final outs in the 2015 World Series, something changed mentally.

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However, the Mets cannot afford to take the chance that Harvey is actually back on track. The rotation, aside from Harvey’s missteps every five days, has performed well. Bringing Vargas back, and inserting another lefty into that rotation, will only help strengthen a team that found themselves at 13-5 heading into last night’s action.

A banishment to the bullpen also does not mean that Harvey’s time as a starter would be over with the Mets. As talented as the rotation may be, they are not exactly the most durable grouping. Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz, in particular, have been quite fragile over their careers. Given enough time, Harvey could end up starting another game. In fact, given the injury history of either pitcher, he may not even need to miss his turn in the rotation before getting that call once more.

With the Mets hot start, and their potential dreams of a postseason berth, they cannot afford to punt every fifth day. The Nationals will eventually get on track, while the Phillies and Braves have been better than expected to start the 2018 campaign. Putting Harvey into the bullpen to prove that he is back, instead of wasting those starts and taxing the bullpen, makes a great deal of sense.

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Matt Harvey may still consider himself a starting pitcher, but the results do not back that up. The New York Mets cannot afford to let him remain in the rotation if Jason Vargas is ready to return.