Major League Baseball announced on Monday that New York Mets reliever Yoan López has been suspended for three games after the commissioner’s office deemed he had intentionally thrown at Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber during Sunday night’s game. Additionally, Mets manager Buck Showalter was suspended for Monday night’s contest against the Atlanta Braves. Both were fined undisclosed amounts, too.
López, who was optioned to Triple-A after his outing on Sunday, threw inside twice to Schwarber during the ninth inning of the Mets’ victory. He subsequently struck Alec Bohm with a pitch, though that was not ruled to be intentional and he was not ejected. It’s worth noting that López’s suspension can be appealed but won’t be executed until the next time he’s activated to the Mets’ 26-player roster, whenever that may be.
López, 29 years old, has appeared in just two games with the Mets this season. He’s caused a ruckus in both. In his first outing, he threw high and tight to St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, spurring a benches-clearing incident. He was fined by the league for that particular pitch, though said fine was covered by Mets infielders Francisco Lindor and Eduardo Escobar.
“We had to take care of it,” Lindor said at the time. “That’s it. He didn’t do it intentionally. And he’s not making as much money as we are. It’s our duty.”
The Mets season has so far been defined in part by the concept of purpose pitches and bean-ball wars. The Mets will enter play on Monday night having been struck by 20 pitches, the most in the majors. (The San Diego Padres, with 16, check in at second.) In spite of the bruises, the Mets have enjoyed a successful start to the season, with a 16-7 record that has them three games up in the National League East.
