I’m not criticizing the Reds, at least not the initial move. It’s possible to disagree with something the Reds do and still believe they made a reasonable decision given the circumstances.
But I never liked the Matt Harvey trade.
When Harvey was traded to the Reds on May 8, he became part of a team with an 8-27 record. Reds starters had posted some of the worst numbers in baseball to that point (it has improved only slightly since), and it looked like the team was much further away from contending than we’d hoped.
Harvey wasn’t billed as the savior; the Reds didn’t consider him as a long-term possibility.