New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey had blood clots in his bladder, which forced him to get scratched from a spring training start, but they have now passed.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported it is not considered serious. Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News noted Mets general manager Sandy Alderson stated Monday that Harvey’s availability for Opening Day was in question while he worked through the medical issue.
DiComo said Harvey expects he’ll be “completely fine” to kick off the season Sunday night in a World Series rematch with the Kansas City Royals.
The news is a positive turn following a day of wild speculation after the Mets announced Harvey would miss Tuesday’s spring training start due to a “non-baseball medical issue.” The lack of details led to plenty of questions.
Luckily, it ended up being a relatively minor setback. DiComo provided further information about the issue:
Marc Carig of Newsday reported the pitcher wasn’t happy “reading some pretty nasty things about what it could be.”
Harvey, 27, sat out the entire 2014 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He didn’t miss a beat upon returning last year, however, posting a 2.71 ERA while striking out 188 batters in 189.1 regular-season innings across 29 starts.
Looking ahead, Matt Ehalt of the Record said the current plan is for Harvey to throw a couple of innings Wednesday to prepare for Opening Day.
The Mets are stacked with ace-level starters for 2016: Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Harvey. Cagey veteran Bartolo Colon provides leadership, and Zack Wheeler is targeting a June or July return from Tommy John surgery.
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