Milwaukee Brewers: Why didn’t they deal for Matt Harvey?

It was clear when Matt Harvey arrived in Cincinnati that the Reds would actively shop him at the trade deadline. Why didn’t the Milwaukee Brewers pull off a deal for Harvey before the non-waiver deadline?

Joakim Soria, Mike Moustakas, and Jonathan Schoop were brought in to strengthen the Milwaukee Brewers before the deadline. However, the most obvious need, another starting pitcher, wasn’t addressed. Matt Harvey is still in Cincinnati. What happened here?

Could the Reds have asked for too much?

Harvey is a free agent in November, and he has a 5.13 ERA. But he’s also rediscovered his velocity and was reportedly clocked above 97 MPH in his last start. He was also one of the top starters in all of baseball…three years ago. It’s entirely possible that the Reds wanted real prospects in return for Harvey.

There were 28 other teams who didn’t pull off a trade for Harvey . There’s probably a reason for that, and there was heavy interest. Just not enough to warrant a deal.

Could the Brewers have been too cheap?

The Milwaukee Brewers gave up real prospects in exchange for the three guys they acquired. There’s no reason to think that they would balk at adding a starting pitcher if they felt the price was right.

Will Harvey get moved after the deadline?

It certainly seems likely. The Reds don’t appear to want Harvey back next year, and his contract ends in a few months. They gambled that Harvey could rebuild his value to the point that they could flip him at the deadline. They lost. It’s time to put him on waivers and let the market decide what he’s worth.

The Milwaukee Brewers felt they were close to pulling off a deal before the deadline. GM David Stearns wouldn’t say who it was, but they were known to be in on Chris Archer, Kevin Gausman, and Harvey. Archer and Gausman are meeting their new teammates. Harvey is still in Cincinnati.

Prices usually come down a bit in August as teams look to flip pending free agents before they leave. It would come as a shock to see Harvey end the year in Cincinnati. He’ll likely change addresses again, and there’s a very good chance that he ends the year with the Milwaukee Brewers.