Matt Harvey is headed to Cincinnati.
The New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds agreed to a trade on Tuesday that sends Harvey to the Reds for catcher Devin Mesoraco and cash. Mesoraco is in the final year of a 4-year, $28 million contract and earning $13 million this season. After breaking out in 2014 with an .893 OPS, Mesoraco went into the tank the next two seasons and was limited due to surgeries. He underwent hip and shoulder surgeries that limited him to 39 games.
Harvey now heads to Cincinnati, which does not appear to be a good landing spot. They’re a bad team and play in a small ballpark, which is not favorable to pitchers — especially one who is struggling. But Harvey did not want to go to the minor leagues and believes he should remain an MLB starter. He’ll get an opportunity to pitch for a team that has the worst record in the league.
Harvey is earning $5.6 million this season. Ken Rosenthal says the teams will pay the remainder of their respective players’ salaries.
