New York (AFP) – Matt Harvey, a pitcher who helped the New York Mets reach the 2015 World Series but has struggled after two surgeries, was dropped Friday by the Major League Baseball club after refusing demotion to a minor-league team.
The 29-year-old right-hander was voted the 2015 Comeback Player of the Year after missing the entire 2014 campaign following “Tommy John” tendon replacement surgery as the Mets reached the World Series, losing to Kansas City.
But Harvey’s 2016 season ended in June with surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome and last year he missed more than two months with a stress fracture in his scapula.
This season, Harvey was 0-2 with a 7.00 earned-run average after surrendering 33 hits over 27 innings.
When Harvey refused to accept demotion, the Mets designated him for assignment. The move removed Harvey from the club’s roster and gives the Mets seven days to trade him, release him or put him on waivers.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson called Harvey’s departure “the end of an era” since Harvey spent his entire major league career with New York starting in 2012.
“He was appreciated for what he brought to the New York Mets,” Alderson said. “My guess is that there are people out there who are willing to take a shot on Matt Harvey.”
Harvey allowed five runs over two innings as a reliever in an 11-0 loss to Atlanta on Thursday.
“It has been tough,” Harvey said after his final Mets appearance. “It has been hard going out there and not being able to help and do what I know I can do. I’ve just got to keep working.”
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