Veteran pitcher Matt Harvey, who lit up New York under his “Dark Knight” moniker while briefly shining for the Mets, announced his retirement from baseball Friday.
Harvey addressed his decision in an Instagram post, sharing a photo from an April 2013 appearance with the Mets and discussing how he “pitched to win. To fire up my team and more importantly, to fire up the fans in a city that I’ve always loved.”
“With all the amazing memories came a lot of injuries and tough times,” Harvey wrote. “The realization that those amazingly powerful moments that make me thrive as a pitcher and help my teammates and city win are no longer possible.
“Believe me I wish I could have done more and brought more of those amazing moments back to life. I have to say this is my time to say thank you, and goodbye.”
Harvey, 34, had not pitched in the major leagues since 2021 with the Baltimore Orioles. He served a 60-game suspension at the start of the 2022 season for distributing a prohibited drug of abuse in violation of MLB’s drug program, then spent the season pitching at three levels of the Orioles’ minor league system.
Last year, Harvey testified at the trial of a former Los Angeles Angels employee who was later convicted of providing pitcher Tyler Skaggs the drugs that led to his overdose death in July 2019.
Harvey became a free agent after the 2022 season but went unsigned. Harvey made two starts for Italy during the World Baseball Classic this year, going 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA.
Harvey was a budding star for the Mets early in his career. He was selected seventh overall in the 2010 amateur draft, debuted in the major leagues in 2012 and made his only All-Star appearance and finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting as a 24-year-old in 2013, when he also received his “Dark Knight” nickname. After Tommy John surgery, he helped pitch the Mets into the World Series in 2015.
He never found the same heights again, however, posting a 5.92 ERA in 539⅓ innings while pitching for the Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Angels, Kansas City Royals and Orioles from 2016 to 2021. Health woes, including thoracic outlet syndrome, contributed to Harvey failing to recapture his early career magic.
Harvey, who retires with a career record of 50-66, a 4.42 ERA and 687 strikeouts, closed his post by thanking the fans for their support.
“To the fans, most importantly the NY Mets fans: you made a dream come true for me. A dream I never could have thought to be true. Who would have thought a kid from Mystic, CT would be able to play in the greatest city in the world, his hometown. You are forever embedded in my heart.”
Information from ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and The Associated Press was used in this report.
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.