Roundtable: What should the Mets do with Matt Harvey?

The New York Mets have reached the point where they have a Matt Harvey problem again. And the 2016 version of the Matt Harvey problem is unlike any the Mets have faced with their ace thus far in his career.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

It's not like last season when they were arguing about how many innings he'd pitch coming off Tommy John surgery. Or like when they clashed with him about his rehab plans after surgery. Nope, this one is all the way on the other side of the baseball spectrum. Matt Harvey is a mess and, so far, he hasn't been able to fix himself.

He was roughed up again Tuesday night, giving up three homers and five runs in the Mets' 7-4 loss to the Washington Nationals. Harvey struck out only one batter, which is particularly troubling when you consider that in addition to his bloated 6.08 ERA, his velocity is down. As bad as his performance was Tuesday, it wasn't nearly as bad as his previous start (also against the Nats) when Harvey gave up nine runs in 2 2/3 innings and was actually booed by Mets fans.

Solutions from the Mets have ranged from the normal to the unusual. There's been talk for a week now about skipping one of Harvey's starts, which isn't uncommon for a struggling pitcher. On Wednesday, the Mets announced Harvey wouldn't be skipped. More interestingly, one recent proposal included burning everything in Harvey's locker. The symbolism is obvious — and the adherence to baseball's superstitious nature is to be applauded.

We here at The Stew have our own ideas about what the Mets should do with Harvey. Some are serious. Some are on the more outlandish side. No possessions will be burned, however.

SEND HIM TO THE MINORS
I think two things are pretty obvious. First, Harvey isn't physically or mentally equipped right now to face major league hitting. Second, and far more complicated, he's not going to be himself again by sitting on the sideline. He's far too competitive to accept that, so I'm of the belief a stint in the minors makes the most sense. Harvey will have to swallow his pride a bit, but sometimes that's exactly what a guy with his talent needs to do to take the next step. (Mark Townsend)

THE EDDIE HARRIS PLAN

There aren't many reasonable comparisons to Matt Harvey and pitcher Eddie Harris from Major League. For one, Harris is fictional, and much older than Harvey. But maybe Harris' strategy can help Harvey out at this point. After losing his stuff due to age, Harris resorted to rubbing a number of ointments on his body in order to get more break on his curve. If the ump was too curious, he would just rub jalapeno in his nose and load up the ball with snot.

[Previously: Mets unsure what to do with Matt Harvey after another rough start]

Look, none of these things are technically legal, but pitchers have been getting away with this type of thing for a while now. And though Harvey is still pumping 94 mph fastballs, his velocity is down nearly two miles-per-hour. At 27, he's probably too young to resort to old pitcher methods at this point, but it's probably pretty tempting. As long as he doesn't insult Jobu, this might even work out for Harvey. (Chris Cwik)

GIVE HIM SOME TIME OFF
Harvey's struggles this season have given the Mets little choice in the matter: they must give him a week or two off. It's a move that will probably be met with criticism and doesn't fit with Harvey's macho persona, but getting whacked around every start isn't exactly doing much for his reputation, either. The Mets have enough pitching to get by during that short period of time and it's best for Harvey to get his mind and body right now, because they need him if they're going to make a run back to the World Series. (Israel Fehr)

SEND HIM TO LIVE WITH BARTOLO COLON

I'm not saying Matt Harvey's struggles are necessarily because he's one of the most famous bachelors in New York City, but when you're trying to fix yourself, a good strategy is to simplify. So I think a restructuring of his personal life my do the trick. Specifically, I think the Mets should send Harvey to go live with Bartolo Colon and his family (or families, whatever).

Bartolo can impart wisdom on Harvey, show him how a 19-year veteran stays focused and perhaps even treat Harvey like another of his kids. Maybe Harvey will get some fining Dominican home-cooking out of it too. If that doesn't work, my next suggestion is leave him on Jakku until his learns how to unlock The Force within his pitching arm. Colon's house seems like a better idea for all parties involved. (Mike Oz)

PUT HIM IN THE BULLPEN
It seems like there are only two options for the Mets at this point, option Harvey to the minors and let him figure it out there where wins and losses matter much less or stick him in the bullpen and allow him to rebuild his confidence, literally one batter at a time. He needs to get in and out of a game or two with positive results. That alone could do wonders.

[Elsewhere: Chris Sale viciously critiques himself after failing to go 10-0]

Harvey seems to be at a point where he has no confidence, which is why I would lean toward the bullpen option. No matter what the club does, it's going to have an effect on Harvey. Sending him to the minors could be seen more as abandoning the guy to figure it out on his own. A time might come for that, but the Mets could keep him on the roster, work him out of the bullpen and have all the resources available at the major league level to help him get over the hump. If it doesn't work and he eventually has to go to the minor leagues, at least manager Terry Collins can say he tried everything to help Harvey. (Kyle Ringo)

THE ROY HALLADAY PLAN

What to do with Matt Harvey really depends on what his problem is. If he's not injured, then his issues go deeper than what a stint on the DL can heal. If Harvey can't get it together and figure out what's wrong, the Mets aren't left with a lot of options.

That's similar to the position the Toronto Blue Jays were in back in early 2001. They had a pitcher they believed in named Roy Halladay, and after carrying an ERA over 10 in 2000 they demoted him to Single-A. He rebuilt himself from the ground up and became one of the most feared pitchers in baseball.

If the Mets believe in Matt Harvey, and Harvey believes in himself and his abilities, they should give him the chance — and the resources — to do what Halladay did. If Harvey can figure things out, then problem solved. But if not, everyone involved should be willing to do whatever it takes to get Harvey back on track. (Liz Roscher)

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

- - - - - - -

Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz