Orioles reach Minors deal with Matt Harvey

The Orioles on Wednesday announced their Minor League deal with right-hander Matt Harvey, adding a second high-profile reclamation project to their rotation competition this spring.

The deal will pay Harvey around $1 million if he makes the team out of Major League camp.

Harvey, 31, rose to prominence as a sensation for the Mets, going 25-18 with a 2.53 ERA over his first three big league seasons. He was an All-Star in 2013, and he returned from Tommy John surgery to help lead the Mets to the World Series in 2015, notably throwing eight-plus strong innings in a Game 5 series-clinching loss to the Royals.

But injuries and controversy muddled Harvey’s tenure in New York, which he ultimately finished 34-37 with a 3.66 ERA after parts of six seasons in 2018. Harvey bounced between four teams in three-plus years since; most recently, he pitched to a 0-3 record and an 11.57 ERA in seven appearances for Kansas City in 2020.

For his career, Harvey is 44-52 with a 4.14 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP for the Mets, Reds, Angels and Royals.

In Baltimore, Harvey gets a chance to crack an Orioles rotation where little is settled behind John Means at the top. He is one of three veterans the O’s have brought in on Minor League deals in recent weeks, along with former Cy Young Award winner Félix Hernández and journeyman Wade LeBlanc. They all have chances to make the team as depth for a Baltimore team that plans to give rookies Dean Kremer and Keegan Akin legit rotation looks, but needs to cover innings in between to limit the workload for them and other prospects.