KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Right-handed pitcher Matt Harvey, the former ace of the New York Mets' pitching staff, will make his debut for the Kansas City Royals as part of Wednesday's doubleheader at Kauffman Stadium. He'll be facing one of former clubs _ the Cincinnati Reds.
Harvey, with his fifth MLB organization since the start of the 2018 season, fills a spot in the KC starting rotation that was vacated when right-hander Jakob Junis went on the injured list following back spasms over the weekend.
Royals right-hander Brad Keller will start the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader. Major League Baseball postponed Tuesday night's game to allow the Reds to conduct more testing after a player tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday night.
For now, it appears Harvey will make a spot start, but he remains open to any role.
"Whatever is needed," Harvey said. "I obviously don't have a ton of experience coming out of the bullpen. I was able to do that a little bit with Oakland last year in Triple-A. But you know what? My job is to go out and execute pitches and do that whether it's the first inning on, or coming in the fourth, fifth, sixth, whatever it is. ... At this point in my career, just having the opportunity to play again has definitely opened my mind to whatever role is needed."
The Royals signed Harvey, 31, to a minor league contract on July 28. His deal is worth a prorated $575,000, with nominal performance bonuses for games, starts and relief appearances.
Harvey said former Royals stars Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer _ all three are represented by agent Scott Boras _ gave him a glowing recommendation about the KC organization. He described himself as "really excited" to receive an offer from the Royals.
"Obviously, he has a pretty good track record, what this guy has been," Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Harvey. "You're hoping to see parts of that again. Realizing that he's been there, done that. There's a lot to that, as well. The experience, the stuff, the competitive nature, all of those things and what (the staff) is seeing in his execution right now.
"You get a guy who is highly motivated to get back up there and show the baseball world the kind of pitcher he still is. This is a great spot for him. We had need. And you always look for those guys that have those traits with the experience, the stuff and the drive."
Harvey has been working out at the club's alternate training site, T-Bones Stadium, in Kansas City, Kan. Last week, general manager Dayton Moore told The Star that the Royals viewed Harvey as a potential option in the bullpen as well as a starting pitcher.
"I think Harvey is prepared to pitch in whatever role is required," Moore said.
Harvey made his major league debut in 2012 and quickly became a star in New York before injuries derailed his rise. Dubbed "The Dark Knight" in a Sports Illustrated cover story, Harvey started the 2013 All-Star Game for the National League but had Tommy John surgery following the season and sat out in 2014 while he rehabbed.
He helped lead the Mets to the NL pennant in 2015. Harvey started Game 5 of the World Series, in which the Royals clinched the championship behind a ninth-inning rally that forced extra innings.
In 2016, Harvey had his first rib removed as part of thoracic outlet decompression surgery. He has struggled to bounce back following that procedure.
The Mets traded him to the Cincinnati Reds during the 2018 season. In 24 starts with the Reds, he went 7-7 with a 4.50 ERA, 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings, a 1.25 WHIP and a 3.96-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Last season, Harvey pitched for the Los Angeles Angels and in the minors for the Oakland Athletics. He went 3-5 with a 7.09 ERA, 39 strikeouts, 29 walks and a 1.54 WHIP in 12 starts (59 2/3 innings) in the majors.
Harvey said a "different pitching philosophy" with the Angels played a part in leading him to a "mechanical rut" from which he had difficulty emerging.
Harvey had one of his better performances of 2019 at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out five in seven innings to earn his first win of the season.
"After the first inning he kind of got locked in and kind of looked like the Matt Harvey of old," Royals outfielder Alex Gordon said after that game.
