Cincinnati Reds: It’s time for Matt Harvey to go to a contender

The non-waiver trade deadline has passed, but teams still have the ability to trade players. It’s time for the Cincinnati Reds to trade Matt Harvey.

Why Matt Harvey is still in a Cincinnati Reds uniform is a mystery. The Reds traded for Harvey back in May with the idea of resurrecting his career and flipping him at the deadline for a mid-level prospect. Well, that plan fell apart because the deadline has passed and Harvey is still with the Reds. It’s time for Plan B; the waiver system.

Last season, players such as Coco Crisp, Carlos Ruiz, and Fernando Salas were traded after the non-waiver trade deadline. If a player is placed on waivers after the deadline, another team can claim him. If a player is claimed, his current team can either retain the player, negotiate a trade, or outright release the player to another team. Two of those three options should be on the table for the Reds.

Matt Harvey has had his ups and downs since joining the Reds, but overall he’s been a nice addition to the ballclub. However, now the Reds are 13.5 games out of the Wild Card and 16 games back of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, it’s time to turn one’s attention to next season.

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With that in mind, Harvey is occupying a spot in the rotation that could offer valuable experience to some of the Cincinnati Reds’ young pitchers. The Reds are currently employing a six-man rotation, which takes an additional arm out of the bullpen and stunts the development of the young starters by adding an extra day in between starts.

Pitchers like Luis Castillo, Sal Romano, and Robert Stepehson could use the extra work. Not to mention that the likes of Tyler Mahle and Cody Reed are at Triple-A Louisville looking for their shot to join the rotation. So, while winning games is important, and one could argue that Harvey gives the Reds a better chance to win than their young pitchers, it’s time to move on from Harvey and allow one of the Reds’ youngsters to continue to grow.

Furthermore, Harvey could really help a contending team who’s struggling with their current starting rotation. A team like the Seattle Mariners, who just moved Felix Hernandez to the bullpen, could use a player like Matt Harvey in the rotation.

The Milwaukee Brewers were said to be in on Harvey around the deadline. They either never offered enough for the Reds to pull the trigger or decided that they’d rather go in another direction. With Brent Suter and Zach Davies sidelined with injuries, Harvey would be a nice addition to the Brewers’ rotation. He could be a solid No. 4 starter behind Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, and Junior Guerra.

The Reds could even decide not to trade Harvey to a contender, but rather release him outright. While that wouldn’t bring back a prospect for the Reds’ farm system, it still enables Cincinnati’s young pitching core to gain valuable experience.

Harvey is coming off one of his better performances since joining the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out 7 batters through 7 innings and only allowed 2 runs on 5 hits this past week against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s hard to see Harvey’s value getting much higher over the next couple of weeks. His next scheduled start is Saturday against the San Francisco Giants. It’ll be interesting to see if Harvey is still on the Reds roster when he’s due to start.