The Reds will option left-hander Brandon Finnegan to Triple-A Louisville tomorrow, and his spot in the rotation will go to the newly acquired Matt Harvey, the team tells reporters (Twitter link via John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer).
[Related: Reds Acquire Matt Harvey]
It’s been a rough start to the season for Finnegan, as the former first-rounder has issued more walks (15) than strikeouts (14) and yielded 20 runs (17 earned) in 20 2/3 innings out of the Cincinnati rotation. Of the 27 hits Finnegan has allowed, five have left the yard. He’ll head to Triple-A and look to hone his command as he looks to work his way back onto the big league roster and trim an unsightly 7.40 ERA.
As for Harvey, he’ll be getting a fresh start after a dramatic and highly publicized end to his tenure in Queens. The righty has been rocked for 21 runs on 33 hits and nine walks with 20 strikeouts in 27 innings so far in 2018 as he still searches for his pre-thoracic-outlet-syndrome form. Moving to the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark isn’t likely to do him any favors in curbing his home run problems — he’s yielded six in 27 innings — though the change of scenery and a lower-profile setting could perhaps provide a mental reprieve.
Cincinnati flipped catcher Devin Mesoraco, whose own career has been derailed by injuries in recent seasons, to the Mets to acquire the rights to roll the dice on Harvey earlier this month. The Reds are reportedly still paying the entirety of Mesoraco’s $13.8MM salary, while the Mets are on the hook for what’s left of Harvey’s $5.6MM salary.
So any ideas for a new Matt Harvey nickname?
Batman, because he’ll end up on the Louisville Bats this season.
Haha. Well that’s solved. Easy.
How about “Batboy”?
Probably more fitting
Red Menace
Red Knight
Lol
Batman because he will end up on the bats
That’s a good one
Stink bait
dumpster fire ?
How about the Joker?
I like “the Joker”.
Red Hood.
Harvey Dented.
Well written article Steve, keep up the good work!
Ditto
Finnegan has been awful. If Harvey can get into the 4th without letting the game get out of reach it will be an improvement.
It would also be an improvement over what Harvey has done so far, as he sports an 8.25 ERA over innings 1-3 this season
And in case anyone is curious, Finnegan is at 6.00 over the same 1-3 innings
I was indeed curious.
Also curious as to why the reds are paying all of mesoraco’s salary. Harvey was about to be on the street… they could’ve at least gotten the Mets to pay some of it.
But then again, I am a bias braves fan who despises the Mets so much that I can’t stand mookie Betts solely because of his first name.
While I generally agree, I think the Mets genuinely like Devin Mesoraco. And that the Mets didn’t want to send Matt Harvey away for nothing. This trade worked out well for both parties.
The Mets are paying all of Harvey’s salary. Think of it this way: Harvey and Mesoraco were traded along with money to balance it out. Neither team’s payroll changed by one penny, but they simply exchanged players.
Think of it this way… The Mets essentially got Mesoraco for free and the Reds got Harvey for a discount on Mesorsco’s salary (Mesorsco’s salary minus Harvey’s
Or think of it this way… The Reds are paying well over $10 million to have Matt Harvey pitch for them…
Big if
Sometimes players do well with a change of scenery. Who knows, stranger things have happened…..
Sadly; The once brilliant Matt Harvey has nothing left. He’s no longer a major league pitcher.
WHRV in Cincinnati
Thanks…now I am going to have to search the web for some classic Dr. Johnny Fever.
I strongly recommend “Dr. Fever and Mr. Tide.”
Thanks. Found all 4 seasons. I’ll eventually get to that one.
Meh. I was kind of disappointed when Antenna brought back WKRP. The characters are great and make the show but the scripts were overwritten, especially the one where Johnny has a personality disorder
Now Barney Miller I can watch all damn day. It took me a year and a half to get through the complete series. That is one classy show.
WKRP (the original not the reboot in the early 90’s) had some great episodes but I also agree on Barney Miller. Wojo could get a bit tedious but I always liked the banter between Harris and Dietrich
Western Hills Retirement Village? That’s the only WHRV in Cincinnati I know of
Is possibly a fitting one though
If Harvey don’t work out with the Reds send him to the Rangers where is old pitching coach is to be honest that’s where he and the coach wanna be at is together again. The coach has already came out and said he could fix Harvey and Harvey agreed.
Oh interesting. Wonder if Harvey and him could do private sessions together.
I wonder if anyone cares
It wouldn’t be the strangest thing in the world if Harvey pitches well again. Getting out of NY may help him mentally, and this is probably the only team where he can go and be one of the three best starters, that’s how bad the rotation is for the Reds.
Might be W-RIP, not W-KRP…..but if he pitches well, he can across the hall to the Dodger clubhouse…..traded for a used pair of Robin’s under-oos……
I actually liked the deal for Cincy. The ceiling for a return is much higher for Harvey than Mesoraco, assuming Harvey can perform reasonably well.
Agreed. And besides that, Tucker Barnhart is solidly entrenched behind the plate for the Reds. Mesoraco was never going to get back into any sort of groove playing once a week.
Everyone is down on Harvey, but he is replacing a pitcher that has fared even worse in 2018. There aren’t many, but even with all his problems, Harvey looks like an improvement over Finnegan.
No way, Finnegans going back to the minors. What a shock!!!
Matt Harvey could hardly have been given a better get-well situation than facing the Dodgers, a team that can’t do anything well. He has a good chance of winning his first game in some time tonight.
41 years ago, another righty went from the Mets to the Reds. Somehow this feels different than when Tom Terrific was dealt on the then 06/15 trading deadline…
You know age is creeping up on you when “41 years ago” makes you think of the 60’s, not freaking 1977 !
I’ll take the road less traveled and talk about the optioned player. I don’t think Finnegan is a starter. The sooner he is converted to the pen the better off he’ll be. I know the reds have converted enough starters into relievers but I don’t think there’s anyway around this one.
Agreed. Is it me or does Finnegan look gassed after about 60 pitches?
Also, that was about as good of a bounce back start for Harvey as the Reds could ask for. 4 innings about about 60 pitches, no walks and no legitimate hits.