Mets officials will take two aspirins and call on Matt Harvey for Friday.
A day after the Mets right-hander was scratched from his scheduled start and told he was suspended for three games after failing to show up at Citi Field on Saturday, manager Terry Collins provided an outline Monday for Harvey’s return to the team. Included is what Collins expects will be an apology to teammates upon his arrival Tuesday before getting the ball three days later in Milwaukee.
According to club sources, Harvey claimed he was experiencing migraine headaches Saturday after playing a round of golf and never showed up for the Mets’ game against the Marlins. After the Mets’ 11-3 victory, team brass convened, and the following morning Harvey was informed by general manager Sandy Alderson he had been suspended without pay for three games, beginning Saturday.
Harvey’s return to the active roster is slated for Tuesday, at which time he will meet with club officials and then be asked to address his teammates.
“One thing he has to do — and he’s done it in the past — he needs to address some guys,” Collins said before the Mets’ 4-3 victory over the Giants. “He wants to do it in a group, which is the easiest, I always think. Or if he wants to do it individually, he can do that. I’m just going to leave it where he’s most comfortable because we’ve got to get this behind us, so however he wants to go about it to do that, I’ll sign on for that.”
A club source indicated the drama began during batting practice — shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday — when it was noticed Harvey was missing. Pitching coach Dan Warthen was twice dispatched to call Harvey and both times received no answer. But by the end of batting practice Warthen had received a text message from Harvey saying he had a migraine and wouldn’t be coming to the ballpark.
Later, after team trainer Ray Ramirez was unsuccessful in reaching Harvey to check on his condition, the Mets dispatched two team security officials to the pitcher’s Greenwich Village apartment to ensure he didn’t need emergency medical assistance, as FanRag Sports first reported. A club source indicated Harvey answered the door and repeated that he had a migraine headache.
According to a club source, Harvey had never previously skipped a game, but he had been late arriving on a few occasions and fined $500 at least once. But Harvey missed a team workout — claiming he got caught in traffic — before the start of the NL Division Series in 2015 and later apologized to teammates.
The source downplayed the idea Harvey’s suspension stemmed from a “compilation” of events, saying any player who skipped a game without being excused would have received the punishment.
Sources indicated Harvey’s camp will likely file a grievance against the Mets “sooner” rather than later, contesting the suspension.
But Mets officials are more concerned with getting Harvey on track than a possible legal battle. Harvey is 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA this season in six starts since returning from July surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.
“He’s got to realize we’re here to help,” a team official said. “We’re not the enemy.”
Team brass had considered slotting in Harvey to start Wednesday against the Giants, but decided waiting until Friday in Milwaukee would benefit the right-hander on two counts: He would receive extra time to throw a side session upon returning and he would be shielded from the immediate wrath of the Citi Field fans.
“I think we’ll get by, we’ll get through it,” Collins said. “He’s just a big guy, a big figure on our club. He’s a big figure in New York and that’s a big city to be a big figure in. All together with the help of his teammates and the help of his coaching staff we’ll move on and hopefully in two months we’re back to where we were with him pitching well.”