NOAH NEED TO RUSH
Mets better stay on ’Gaard with injured righthander
DENVER — Noah Syndergaard is not close to returning to the rotation — and he should not be. On his third straight day of throwing, the Mets' big righthander stretched his program out to 120-feet Wednesday, but he is still throwing with his injured finger taped up.
The plan is for him to take Thursday off and have the finger looked at again on Friday when the team is back in New York. Then, he hopes to be cleared to throw without the modified splint on the finger, but still off flat ground.
Monday will be one month since Syndergaard last pitched in a major league game, a long time for him to be off the mound. Still, he should be weeks away from his next big league start.
Syndergaard, speaking to the media for the first time since he was placed on the disabled list with a strained ligament in his right index finger, said that he would be comfortable returning without a minor league rehab start. But at this point the Mets should not be rushing him, and they should consider giving him at least two minor league starts.
“After this long, he needs to get back on a mound in a competitive situation and get the feel for it again,” said a scout who has watched Syndergaard over his career. “You can't expect him to go out and work it out in the big leagues. That's dumb.”
But there is obviously pressure to get Syndergaard back on the mound as quickly as possible.
A team built around strong starting pitching is floundering. Since Syndergaard last pitched, the Mets have gone 6-18. Ironically, the starting pitching has been solid; it's the trickledown effect of having to put Seth Lugo in the rotation that has hurt the most.
“I think that the one thing that has been affected has been the bullpen. We had to take one of our better relievers and stick him in the rotation,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “Our rotation has been great the last month or so. Numbers-wise we've been one of the better rotations in the league the last month or so. It's definitely been a trickle down effect.
“We're looking forward to getting (Syndergaard) back, because we're a better team when he is active.”
And there is also the clock ticking towards the end-ofJuly trade deadline.
The Mets have made it clear to at least two other teams that they are willing to listen to offers on Syndergaard if they decide it's time for a rebuild. Also, at least one AL executive thinks that the Mets are testing the waters for a possible offseason trade of Syndergaard.
But they need to have him on the mound in order to ease concerns about Syndergaard's last two seasons being interrupted by injuries.
Syndergaard dismissed the talk of trades Wednesday.
“To be quite honest, I haven't been paying attention to that mumbo jumbo,” Syndergaard said. “I can control what's in my control. If that were to happen I am only capable of controlling what I can control.”
But the Mets should take the timing of his return out of the equation of trades or the team's record. They are still without Yoenis Cespedes, and Callaway revealed that there is no timeline for Jay Bruce's expected return. Syndergaard's return doesn't magically fix this team.
Syndergaard is frustrated because it feels like such an insignificant injury.
“It really sucks, especially because it is such a minor injury. Think about it, it's a finger injury,” Syndergaard said. “But I am working on just fine-tuning other parts of my game.”
He has worked hard to keep his shoulder strong during this period and feels like that arm strength will make the transition back to the mound easy.
“My arm feels great out there, feels like I am throwing rockets,” Syndergaard said with his usual bravado.
That's great, but the Mets need to make sure he doesn't go out there trying to throw rockets in a game too fast. The next step for Syndergaard is simply to see if he can throw without discomfort when they take the modified splint off.
It's almost been a month since he last pitched in a major league game, and the Mets should make sure it's a couple weeks before he does so again.