Play has already begun for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and there are many familiar names from MLB who are involved in the competition.
And Team Italy will have a very familiar face pitching their first game of the competition.
Italy will face Cuba on Friday in their first game of Pool A play. Former New York Mets ace Matt Harvey will get the start.
Harvey is currently a free agent and underwent knee surgery in September. He spent all of last season in the minors for the Baltimore Orioles and had a 4.31 ERA over 10 starts in Triple-A.
Harvey burst onto the scene for the Mets in 2012, two years after being drafted No. 7 overall. He went 9-5 with a 2.27 ERA for the Mets in 2013 and finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting.
After missing all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery, Harvey had a strong recovery season in 2015, going 13-8 with a 2.71 ERA. But Harvey never regained his form after that and has mostly bounced around while posting high ERAs.
If he is able to pitch well against the Cuba team, that could attract some attention from MLB teams who might be willing to give him a minor-league deal.
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