Chicken Lovers

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Matt Harvey walked into the Mets’ clubhouse on Tuesday morning, his head held high, as if nothing were wrong. The Metshad announced the day prior that he was dealing with an unspecified, nonbaseball-related ailment, and now the only physical sign that something had been amiss was the red hospital band around his wrist.

Harvey met with the media and explained his delicate situation, that he had a blood clot in his bladder, that he passed it on Monday, and that he had undergone a minor procedure on Tuesday to check out the bladder, just in case.

“I’m cleared to go,” he said.

The plan now, Harvey said, was to do light activity on Tuesday and throw a few innings on Wednesday, setting him up to make the Mets’ opening day start on Sunday in Kansas City.

A few days ago, Harvey’s making that start seemed in doubt when he noticed discoloration in his urine.

“I didn’t really know what was going on,” Harvey said. “I was having trouble using the restroom. Obviously, anytime there is, you know, discoloration in your urine, it’s not a great feeling. I didn’t know what was going on with my stomach.”

Doctors told him that he had developed a bladder infection, which led to the clot.

“I guess the main issue is I hold my urine in for too long, instead of peeing regularly,” Harvey said, drawing laughter from the media. “I have to retrain my bladder to use the restroom a little bit more, instead of holding it in. That’s what caused the bladder infection.”

In the past day or so, since the Mets had been so vague about Harvey’s condition, fans on social media had made crude remarks, trying to speculate what his ailment might be. Harvey scrolled through the notes, presumably out of curiosity.

“Reading some pretty nasty thing about what it might be wasn’t very nice,” he said. “But I’m glad we figured it out.”

Dr. Ketan Badani, the vice chairman of Mount Sinai Hospital’s department of urology, who spoke without specific knowledge of Harvey’s case, said that if an infection caused Harvey’s clot, he simply had to stay hydrated and be vigilant about using the restroom from now on.

“If he follows that, it shouldn’t affect his pitching,” Badani said. “I mean, it’s a urinary tract infection. Obviously, it’s a more common phenomenon in women than in men. But in his line of work, if you’re constantly holding onto your urine and not going often, it can happen.”

With Harvey being cleared to start on opening day, Mets Manager Terry Collins announced on Tuesday that his plan was to follow Harvey with Noah Syndergaard for the second game in Kansas City, with Jacob deGrom starting the home opener against the Phillies on April 8. However, Collins cautioned that deGrom’s start was written in pencil because his wife, who is expecting soon, might go into labor.

The Mets were reminded again on Tuesday how important their rotation will be to their success this season. With Harvey scratched and Sean Gilmartin taking his place, the Mets’ offense managed two hits as they lost to the Miami Marlins, 1-0, extending the Mets’ Grapefruit League winless streak to 12 games. Collins, though, did not seem concerned, citing his plan to rest the veterans and ease everyone into the season.

“We’ve tried to mix and match and do the best we can,” he said. “I don’t know how to reiterate it, but they don’t count. Whether we’re 21-1 or 1-21, it doesn’t count.

“Starting April 3, they mean something.”