St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado and reliever Genesis Cabrera have been suspended for their roles in Wednesday's brawl with the New York Mets, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.
Arenado, who escalated the incident after a high-and-inside pitch from Mets reliever Yoan Lopez, received a two-game ban, while Cabrera was suspended for one game.
While Cabrera served his ban Thursday, Arenado is appealing and will be eligible to play until the appeal is heard.
"I don't think it needs to be two games," Arenado said after Thursday's game, according to Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I don't think it needs to be a suspension. Maybe a fine, I get, but not a suspension."
Both players were also fined, as was right-hander Jack Flaherty for coming onto the field while on the injured list. Cardinals first base coach Stubby Clapp, who was ejected for tackling Mets first baseman Pete Alonso during the scrum, was not disciplined.
No members of the Mets were suspended, though Lopez and right-hander Taijuan Walker were each fined. Walker apparently learned of his discipline via social media:
Well damn this new to me 😅 https://t.co/z4xyEP2ihY
— Taijuan Walker (@tai_walker) April 28, 2022
The benches-clearing melee happened at the end of a tense three-game series that saw five Mets get hit by pitches, adding to their league-leading total. Shortly after New York's J.D. Davis left the game due to being hit in the ankle, Lopez went up and in on Arenado, who took exception.
Speaking postgame, Lopez and Mets manager Buck Showalter maintained that the pitch was unintentional.
