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Oakland Athletics: Matt Harvey’s inevitable return and what it means for A’s top prospect

By James Carroll

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 01: Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets reacts to striking out the side in the fourth inning against the Kansas City Royals during Game Five of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field on November 1, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 01: Matt Harvey #33 of the New York Mets reacts to striking out the side in the fourth inning against the Kansas City Royals during Game Five of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field on November 1, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics MESA, ARIZONA – MARCH 05: Jesus Luzardo #44 of the Oakland Athletics delivers a pitch during the spring training game against the Texas Rangers at HoHoKam Stadium on March 05, 2019 in Mesa, Arizona. Oakland Athletics Matt Harvey Oakland Athletics (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

Impact on A’s Top Pitching Prospect

While the obvious perk of signing Matt Harvey at this point in the season is that he could turn out to be high-reward despite being considerably low-risk, it likely reveals what the A’s have planned for their pitching situation moving forward.

A.J. Puk has reportedly been informed that he will serve as an addition to the A’s bullpen as early as this coming Tuesday, most likely replacing Wei-Chung Wang as a left-handed specialist. Sean Manaea should be joining the rotation after one more start in Vegas.

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The A’s have signed Harvey in the hope that they can conceivably limit the pressure to call up Jesus Luzardo — a choice that would begin his service time clock.

Ironically, because of stories like Harvey’s, the A’s are going to be especially careful with their top pitching prospect, likely considering an innings limit heading down the stretch.

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Luzardo is most recently returning from a lat strain but was sidelined by a left rotator cuff strain early in the season while he was arguably in the running for a rotation spot with the major league club.

Moves to acquire reclamation projects like Homer Bailey and Matt Harvey to go along with a crowded MLB and Triple-A starting rotation gives the A’s the flexibility to take their time on Jesus Luzardo.

Luzardo can still contribute to the club before season’s end and likely will be considered for a relief spot if the A’s decide that they need as much firepower in the bullpen as possible.

But the signing of Harvey all but guarantees that Luzardo will not be making a start for the Oakland Athletics during the 2019 season. They will not rush him if it means leveraging their future.

Meanwhile, Matt Harvey is still a candidate to offer quality pitching to the Oakland A’s during their playoff race. If this weekend’s start in Las Vegas is any indication, it’s plausible that we’ll be seeing Harvey at some point in September.

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The pitcher who takes the mound for Oakland won’t be the one that took the mound for the Mets in 2015.

But he could be the one that gives Oakland a chance at glory.

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