Advertisement

Matt Harvey suspended three games by Mets but they aren't saying why

mike oz

Matt Harvey was supposed to start Sunday for the New York Mets, instead he was sent home, suspended three games for “violation of team rules.” What exactly happened? The Mets aren’t saying. So we’re left to wonder what’s wrong with the Mets now?

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now]

The reason(s) for the suspension are beginning to trickle out. First there was a report from Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports saying the punishment was due to Harvey not showing up at Citi Field on Saturday.

A short while later, the New York Daily News put out a report that the genesis for Harvey’s suspension goes back to last season.

Jon Heyman of Fanragsports.com reports that Harvey will file a grievance. Heyman notes there was a “miscommunication” between the star pitcher and management after Harvey played golf on Saturday, went home with a headache and told the Mets he wasn’t feeling well.

Officially, New York is staying as vague as possible. Here’s the jist of what the Mets are saying, via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo:

Matt Harvey won't be pitching for the Mets on Sunday. (AP)
Matt Harvey won't be pitching for the Mets on Sunday. (AP)

New York wound up losing to the Miami Marlins, 7-0, on Sunday. It was uglier than the score suggests.

The Mets season has been a mess so far, with injuries upon injuries. Harvey was called on two weeks ago to pitch early when Noah Syndergaard was dealing with health issues. Harvey got shelled. Syndergaard eventually went on the DL because his injury was worse than everybody thought — partially because the Mets didn’t force him to get an MRI. The Mets — expected to be a playoff team — are 14-15 entering play Sunday, which isn’t that bad considering some of the headlines they’ve created this year. They’ve won four of their last five, though, and their offense has scored more than 10 runs twice this week.

Another bit of Mets infamy came this weekend when the Mets tweeted a NSFW picture from their clubhouse after Friday’s victory. This led some to speculate that Harvey’s suspension is because he had something to do with the sex-toy clubhouse prank. However, Marc Carig at Newsday is saying that’s not the case:

Whatever Harvey did, or was supposed to do, we’re bound to find out eventually. The question is whether it’ll be another LOLMets moment or another entry in the bumpy relationship between Harvey and the Mets.

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!