Thanks to an undisclosed and very mysterious issue, Matt Harvey‘s status for Opening Day with the New York Mets is now in doubt.
By Jeremy Fialkow
Some scary stuff happening out of New York Mets camp Monday, and I’m not talking about their 11th straight spring game without a win.
The Mets announced that one of their aces, Matt Harvey, will be scratched from his final Grapefruit League appearance, which was set for Tuesday against the Marlins.
New York has still yet to disclose any details of the NL Comeback Player of the Year’s injury or absence, including the possible severity.
Here’s why Mets Nation should be worried: New York (and their Head Athletic Trainer Ray Ramirez) has a very questionable history in regards to disclosing the seriousness of a player’s injury.
In fact, its almost as though the Metropolitan brass embraces their downplaying of an injury’s severity.
Take a look at this graph, courtesy of Wall Street Journal:
Two to three weeks off for David Wright is more than enough time to recoup for some hamstring tightness, right?
Wrong. That hamstring tightness uncovered a debilitating back injury for the Captain, known as spinal stenosis.
Ex-Met and playoff hero Daniel Murphy tweaked something on his body, leaving Terry Collins to proclaim:
“It’s not too serious.”
Well, in this instance, not-too-serious equated to a 22-game long stint on the disabled list.
What was a minor case of elbow tendinitis for promising pitcher Zack Wheeler became a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) which needed Tommy John surgery to repair. He’s still rehabbing and expected to make a July return to the rotation.
The list goes on for this seemingly unbreakable habit of misdiagnosing injuries and ailments.
"His arm is fine," Terry Collins stresses of Matt Harvey. But clearly something's up. Collins called Harvey's ailment "a mystery." #Mets
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 28, 2016
Sandy Alderson said Matt Harvey may have to go to New York for further examination. He will not pitch the… https://t.co/P5s4UROUws
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) March 28, 2016
Right now, describing the ordeal as a “mystery” won’t cut it for the thousands of fans concerned over what’s going on with their team’s Opening Night starter, which, of course, is under a week away.
Harvey was roughed up in his previous spring start, surrendering six runs over three innings. Maybe this mystery ailment had something to do with the awry performance, maybe not. After that game, Harvey declined to make any excuses for the subpar outing.
General manager Sandy Alderson said Harvey may need to return to New York for further treatment, but he too declined to go into specifics.
Regardless, let’s hope the whole situation is nothing particularly problematic for the All-Star righty who just turned 27-years-old Sunday and is primed for a eye-popping season.
Hate speculating, but I've never seen the Mets treat an injury/illness with this much discretion. Makes it seem worrisome even if benign.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 28, 2016
Sandy Alderson: "If [Harvey] had to have a wisdom tooth pulled, he wouldn’t pitch tomorrow. So let’s not jump to conclusions here.” #Mets
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 28, 2016
