New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey’s backslide into obscurity might be reaching its ultimate conclusion. Already off to a pretty terrible start to the season, the Mets recently announced on Sunday morning they had suspended the pitcher for three games. The franchise did not divulge why the hurler was being suspended.
Violation of New York Mets team rules
Harvey is going to be suspended for three days without pay but no one is talking about just what might have happened. It doesn’t appear this is a situation like the Giants had to go through with their ace doing something that landed him on the DL for a good portion of the season.
There is no report that an arrest or even trouble with the law might be the culprit either.
Violating team rules can be almost anything, and one has to wonder if perhaps he skipped out on the Mets’ front office or manager because the team is struggling and the pitcher is struggling even more. The pitcher was once one of the budding stars of the franchise but he’s had a bad go of it, thanks in large part to injuries in the past few years.
With the Mets struggling to keep pace with the red hot Washington Nationals, it’s possible the still young hurler did something rather impetuous. Without the team or Harvey talking we have nothing but conjecture to go on as to why he is going to be missing the next few games, including Sunday’s start.
New York has replaced their starter with lefty Adam Wilk for a game.
Harvey’s long slide downwards
As ESPN points out, Harvey’s had a number of different injuries over the last few years that have seemingly robbed him of his early career stuff. In 2015, he posted a 13-8 record with a 2.71 earned run average but he’s never come close to repeating that performance.
In 2016, he made just 17 start and went 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA thanks to thoracic outlet syndrome.
That rare syndrome forced the former Mets’ ace to undergo surgery and it has appeared he has not quite recovered. So far this season, Harvey has managed to go just 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA. That’s a far cry from the pitcher who started the 2013 All-Star game and threw two innings of one hit, three strikeout shutout baseball.
The suspension isn’t long enough for Harvey to rest his season, though it still might work out for the best in New York. At the very least he’ll get a few extra days to rest his arm and try to come back stronger. Should the Mets and Harvey overcome whatever went on between them it could work out in the end.
