After passing a blood clot that was causing problems in his bladder, Matt Harvey is clear to make his Opening Day start next Sunday. The New York Mets initially described Harvey's condition as a "non-baseball ailment" and completely unrelated to his throwing arm.
He needed to be scratched from his spring training start on Tuesday and was suddenly questionable for Opening Day. He revealed Tuesday morning that he had a blood clot in his bladder that was causing him pain and discomfort, though he passed it Monday and is feeling back to normal.
"I didn't really know what was going on," he said. "I was having trouble using the restroom, and obviously any time there's discoloration in your urine, it's not a great feeling. So I didn't know what was going on with my stomach. But we had some tests yesterday and everything's fine now."
Manager Terry Collins and general manager Sandy Alderson appeared to be holding back as many details as possible Monday while also making sure fans did not assume the worst. Harvey said he will pitch Wednesday for his final spring tune-up ahead of Sunday's season opener in Kansas City. Harvey will face Royals starter Edinson Volquez for a World Series rematch.
Harvey became the Mets' Opening Day starter because Jacob deGrom's wife is due to give birth during the team's series against the Royals. However, the team is now revealing how their fearsome starting rotation will unfold.
The Mets-Royals series is just a two-game set with a day off in between. Noah Syndergaard will pitch the second game, but could exit early if his pitch count gets too high. Steven Matz would be the long reliever in that situation. After two more days off, the Mets will presumably start deGrom for their home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies, leaving Bartolo Colon and Matz to round out the rotation.
The Mets seem intent on gradually increasing the workloads of their their young starters and will be able to factor another one into the rotation when Zack Wheeler makes his return this summer. Though Harvey, who turned 27 on Sunday, gave the Mets a scare, he was able to joke about the situation.
"It wasn't a great first day [after] my 27th birthday. But we cleared that. And then we had a little procedure done this morning just to go in and check the bladder and everything was clear," he said. "I guess the main issue is I hold my urine in for too long instead of peeing regularly, so I guess I have to retrain my bladder to use the restroom a little bit more instead of holding it in."
