Report: Matt Harvey Signs One-Year Deal with Angels

The Dark Knight has relocated from Gotham to the sunny shores of California today, as SP Matt Harvey agrees to a one-year $11M pillow contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Per Jon Heyman, the deal also includes $3m in incentives based on games started.

Matt Harvey’s Angels deal for the 11M guarantee has the 3M incentives based on games started between 15 and 26 gs. @Feinsand 1st with agreement

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 19, 2018

Matt Harvey Signs One-Year Deal with the Los Angeles Angeles

2018 finally saw the end of Harvey’s career as a Met, which ended with him being DFA’d on May 5th. He was shipped to the Cincinnati Reds on May 8^th and spent the rest of the season in their rotation. Harvey’s overall numbers were decidedly pedestrian (7-9 with a 4.94 ERA and 1.30 WHIP) and he struggled to strike out batters (19.8% K%) as well.

Despite this, Harvey’s second-half peripherals jumped markedly and are the reason he was able to garner $11m in guaranteed cash. Advanced looks into his 5.37 second-half ERA were positive (4.68 FIP, 3.88 xFIP, 3.80 SIERA) and his ability to strike batters out rose as the season progressed:

These rates are close to what Harvey posted in 2015, and his production in September eclipsed even that (25.4% K%, 36.3% O-Swing%, 14.3% SwStr%). Changes to his pitching mix, particularly in September, caused his arsenal to be more effective against hitters, as did his improved control (-5.3% BB% in 2018).

Verdict

Harvey’s second-half performance is promising for the Angels, and he has the potential to make this contract a steal for them in 2019. In order to do so, however, he must maintain the strikeout ability he showed towards the end of the season. This is a perfect gamble for the Angels, even with the attached risk.

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