Matt Harvey might end up in a Royals uniform. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Matt Harvey close to joining Royals

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jul 23, 2020 6:16 PM ET

On Thursday, MLB Network and ESPN reported that the Kansas City Royals are nearing a minor league agreement with veteran right-handed starter Matt Harvey.

The former New York Mets ace, who won Comeback of the Year honors in 2015, is quite familiar with the Royals. He famously was spectacular versus Kansas City in Game 5 of the '15 World Series until the ninth inning, when he was unable to close out what ultimately became a series-clinching Royals win:

That night was Harvey's last bright moment with the Amazins. He appeared in only 17 games during the 2016 campaign before the Mets shut him down in June due to thoracic outlet syndrome. Harvey's struggles continued through 2018 when the Mets traded him to the Cincinnati Reds in May of that year.

Harvey later completed stints with the Reds, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics. Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Harvey had been linked with the Toronto Blue Jays and a potential move to Korea Baseball Organization.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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