The MLB announced Monday that the New York Mets reliever Yoan López has been suspended for three games after the league officials concluded the Cuban professional intentionally thrown at the Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber in the ninth inning during a game on Sunday.In addition to López, the franchise manager Buck Showalter was also suspended for one game and unfortunately had to miss out on the Mets series opener game against the Atlanta Braves on Monday. Both López and Showalter were fined for an undisclosed amount of money.
“We were surprised, I can tell you that,” New York bench coach Glenn Sherlock said. “It was close to game time, but like I said, that’s baseball and that’s really not our decision. Just have to deal with it.”
López’s previous penalty
López was claimed off waivers by the Phillies in November last year after 32 Triple-A Gwinnett appearances with the Braves.
However, he arrived in New York quite recently on March 29 this year after the third time off waivers claims, following the previous one which was made by the Miami Marlins for designated assignments on March 18. Up to this point, the former Diamondbacks only appeared in two games with the Mets.
The right-handed batsman is known for causing a couple of problems in his two games with New York this season. Previously, while playing the St. Louis Cardinals, López pitched hard and close to St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado which also led to him being fined by the league.
The Cuban international was fined for the ordeal after game officials called on his throw intentionally despite fellow teammates saying otherwise.
But, López’s fine was paid by infielders Francisco Lindor and Eduardo Escobar as the duo claimed their teammate did not make as much money and it is their duty to cover the tab.
“We had to take care of it,” Lindor said. “That’s it. He didn’t do it intentionally. And he’s not making as much money as we are. It’s our duty.”
Reportedly the maximum amount of the fine was $10,000 and previous cases suggest most went under the said amount. This recent fine could go somewhere near or below that.
López appeared to have thrown at Schwarber twice while in one at-bat Sunday. Although, the throw did not hit the opposing player. The umpires, however, was quick on their toes to call out warning on both teams.
In the next at-bat, López would throw and beaned third baseman Alec Bohm but was not ejected from the game. The incident later would led to him being optioned for Triple-A this Monday.
The bean-ball gesture defined the Mets in this season very well as the franchise tapped into purpose pitches and bean-ball wars. Despite all of these, New York has performed relatively well this season, most recently the franchise claimed a 10-6 win over Philadelphia on Sunday and 3-0 back on April 29.
