Blue Jays need to steer clear of free agent Matt Harvey

The Toronto Blue Jays need to steer clear of free agent pitcher Matt Harvey if they plan on building a healthy culture on and off the field.

MLB.com compiled a list of 30 free agents and where they best fit around the league, surprisingly they selected Matt Harvey as the best free agent fit for the Blue Jays. This is a bit of a head-scratcher for me seeing the Blue Jays are going to field a very young and impressionable core next season.

Harvey has always been a high maintenance, me first kind of guy who lived a lavish lifestyle in the “Big Apple”. The 29-year old also is well known for his propensity for partying which landed him in hot water on more than one occasion in New York. Hardly the character traits or distractions the Jays need in the midst of a rebuild with a first-year manager.

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Harvey is a shell of his former self and nowhere near the hurler he once was from 2012 through to 2015. The right-hander sported a 7.00 earned run average in 8 games last season before being dealt to the Cincinnati Reds. Harvey did right the ship somewhat with the Reds posting a respectable 4.50 earned run average in 24 starts for the NL Central cellar dwellers.

There are a plethora of other affordable free agent inning eaters who don’t come with the same reputation as that of Harvey. The likes of Gio Gonzalez, Wade Miley, Trevor Cahill, Drew Pomeranz would all be better off-field influences than that of Harvey while possessing similar numbers. The Jays also reportedly have interest in bringing back J.A. Happ although he may end up out of their preferred price range before it is all said and done.

The former first-round pick earned a modest $5.625 million last season, however, no team friendly deal is worth the baggage the “Dark Knight of Gotham” travels with. Steer clear Toronto!