The New York Mets came into Sunday afternoon’s game against the Miami Marlins on a three-game winning streak and winners of six of their last eight. A win against Jose Arena and the Marlins would give them their fourth straight series win despite crippling injuries to their top slugger, Yoenis Cespedes and ace starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
As fans entered the ballpark they learned of the latest drama to hit Flushing. Pitcher Matt Harvey (2-2, 5.14), who hasn’t gotten a victory since his second start in Philadelphia on April 11, was scratched from his scheduled start before the game. The team announced that Harvey had been suspended three days without pay for violating team rules.
General manager Sandy Alderson made the announcement during an impromptu press conference on Sunday morning in which he did not give a reason or details for Harvey’s sudden discipline. He also did not field any questions from the media.
Harvey’s suspension is effective as of Saturday. Manager Terry Collins also chose not to elaborate on the situation. The Mets would not comment on if the suspension is related to a picture that surfaced on social media tweeted out by the club that contained a sex toy in the background. Speculation is that Harvey may have been behind the prank.
“There’s things with this job that certainly are internal that the public can’t see and how hard it is,” Collins told reporters before the game, “and this one’s a tough one. We hope to put it behind us and move forward.”
Harvey was replaced on the roster by Adam Wilk, who was called up from AAA Las Vegas to start Sunday’s game. Syndergaard was moved to the 60-day disabled list to accommodate the Harvey and Wilk moves.
Wilk, 29, has not appeared in a major league game since 2015 when he was a member of the Los Angeles Angels. His last start in the majors was in 2012 with the Detroit Tigers. Wilk was 2-3 with a 5.91 ERA in six starts with Las Vegas this season.