Thanks to a down 2017 season, Matt Harvey’s future in baseball is up in the air

At one point in his career, Matt Harvey ran New York. He was considered the hottest thing since sliced bread, and he had an attitude that truly believed it. Nowadays, Matt Harvey can’t get himself out of an inning. The crowd, once full of admiration for The Dark Knight, has turned on him.

A once bright future which resulted in him being the starting pitcher in the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field is slowly fading into obscurity. As 2017 comes to a close, 2018 raises so many questions about the future of number 33.

In a season full of doubt, Harvey has posted numbers not favorable for a man looking for a lucrative deal in the future. Before his upcoming start this Friday, Harvey has a 5-6 record with a bloated 6.60 ERA in 18 games, only reaching 88.2 innings on the year. Once a strikeout machine, the 28-year old has struck out 66 batters while walking a career-high 44 batters. In 2013, Harvey’s WHIP was .931. This season? 1.66. You see where I am going with this?

The injury bug has hit Harvey hard. He went on the DL in June with a stress injury to the scapula bone in his right shoulder. Once he came back, it wasn’t for long. Harvey then suffered from shoulder weakness before making his return in September. The past month hasn’t done him any favors. In 18+ innings, Harvey has given up 24 earned runs, walked nine and has struck out ten batters. In five starts in the month of September, Harvey’s ERA is 11.78.

Ever since Matt Harvey had Tommy John Surgery in 2013, he has not been the same. With a 34-34 record and only mustering nine wins the past two seasons, it’s hard not to see why fanfare for Harvey is down. His efforts to be better in 2015 were marred by controversy thanks to his agent Scott Boras and the results of his almost stellar outing in the 2015 World Series.

Along with his issues off the field, Matt Harvey’s season has reflected how the Mets in general have done this season; poorly. His post-game interviews have become depressing instead of what we usually see from Matt. He knows his efforts have been for naught. Yet the Mets will most likely offer him a contract, via non-tender. Harvey will become a free agent after the 2018 season, and he will look to improve to show his worth. There may be a chance the Mets can salvage enough OK outings from him so they could sell him away to another team. It will be interesting to see which team will want to take him on.

There is a chance Matt Harvey can come back and be the man everyone, even he, knows he could be. While it’s still early to tell, we may be seeing another Mark Prior on the mound in Matt Harvey. I could be very wrong about that, and for the sake of the franchise and himself, I hope I am. As the door to 2017 closes, 2018 is right around the corner. What will become of Matt Harvey? Only he can write the next chapter to his story, and we will all be there for what will be the ride of his life.