12h07: Harvey will earn $ 1 million if he is on the active list of Orioles, writes Jon Meoli of The Baltimore Sun.
10:32: The Orioles agreed to a secondary league deal with the right-handed Matt Harvey, Jon Heyman reports of the MLB Network (via Twitter)
Baltimore was known for seeking veteran pitch depth, and the O’s have already brought another prominent name in Felix Hernandez earlier this month in another minor contract. King Felix will now have the company of the Dark Knight in the competition for a spot in the rotation of the Orioles.
Whether Harvey remains a starting pitcher or maybe transferred to the bullpen is a question to be determined. Since undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in 2016, Harvey has had an awkward 6.09 ERA of 319 Major League entries with the Mets, Reds, Angels and Royals. After signing a secondary league deal with Kansas City last year, Harvey posted an 11.57 ERA on 11 2/3 entries for the Royals, allowing for six home runs in that brief period.
Three of Harvey’s seven appearances with KC came as a reliever, which marked his first bullpen job since the Mets removed him from the rotation after fighting early in the 2018 season. If he can’t break the Baltimore pitching team, it seems likely that Harvey will embrace a full conversion to relief pitches as a way to potentially stay in a big league and put his career back on track.
The seventh overall choice of the 2010 draft, Harvey immediately came on the scene with excellent numbers in 2012-13, and finished fourth in the vote for the NL Cy Young award in 2013 (his new teammate Hernandez, incidentally, finished eighth in the AL Cy Young race that same season). After missing the 2014 season due to Tommy John’s surgery, Harvey recovered with another strong year to help lead the Mets to the NL Championship in 2015. Unfortunately, growing injuries and off-field problems hindered Harvey’s remaining years. on the Big Apple before it was traded to the Reds in May 2018.