NOAH IS LOCKED IN
Same hair, less bulk in effort to bounce back in ’18
PORT ST. LUCIE — Noah Syndergaard hasn’t seen Jacob deGrom yet this spring, but he certainly doesn’t plan to be joining his rotation mate with the Mets in chopping off his shoulder-length flaxen locks this season.
“Absolutely not,” Syndergaard said after taking part in a workout with some teammates on Wednesday at the Mets’ springtraining complex. “I haven’t seen him, is it strange looking?
“I can’t imagine cutting mine anytime soon. Kind of a Samson thing, I’d lose my power.”
Already well established with a hammer-wielding Thor alter ego, Syndergaard probably needs to settle on which particular mythology he’d like to embrace in regard to his hair, moving forward.
Still, power does remain a common thread when it comes to the flame-throwing righty, especially following a lost 2017 season for him personally and for the Mets, in general.
The former All-Star reported to camp one year ago bulked up with superhero-level muscles and then went rogue on the Mets’ training staff early in the season, landing on the DL for four months with a torn lat muscle after not heeding the team’s request to undergo an MRI exam.
“It’s unfortunate what happened last year,” Syndergaard says. “You always learn from it and get better, that’s always how you look at things.”
Syndergaard finally made it back to toss three innings over two truncated starts late in the year — admittedly providing peace of mind heading into the offseason — but the injury he suffered in late April led to greatly altering his workout routine again this winter.
The focus was more on what he described as “fluidity and mobility” rather than sheer strength.
“I feel great. I’m super-excited to be here. Honestly, I didn’t really get much sleep last night. It felt like the first day of school, just kind of had the itch to really get back and get things going again and just to see all the guys,” Syndergaard said. “Probably the first couple of years in my offseasons I was just very gung-ho in lifting weights, and I just kind of neglected the ‘being-athletic’ kind of side.
“So I was very wound tight and couldn’t move very well. It’s something I worked on a lot this year, a lot of mobility work and being able to get my hips and my core to work in synergy.”
Working in tandem is similarly important for a roster that saw a few anonymous players take shots late last season at since-axed manager Terry Collins, in what turned out to be an injury-riddled 70-92 catastrophe following two consecutive postseason appearances.
Syndergaard voiced his approval of the offseason moves made by GM Sandy Alderson, most notably the hiring of former Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway as manager, the return of free-agent outfielder Jay Bruce and the additions of Todd Frazier, Adrian Gonzalez and reliever Anthony Swarzak.
“I think we made some great acquisitions,” Syndergaard said. “I think we’re going to have a great lineup, a force to be reckoned with, solid defense behind us and the pitching staff is going to hold their own. I’m really excited to get the ball rolling.
“I think if the staff stays healthy,” he then added, “it’ll be a very interesting season, interesting in a good way.”
That, of course, is no certainty after every starter aside from deGrom spent time on the disabled list last year. It is why the Mets still need to take advantage of a depressed marketplace and sign another dependable starter such as Lance Lynn or Alex Cobb, especially if they are able to on reasonable terms.
Either way, Syndergaard still provides the Mets with tremendous value when healthy, earning $2.975 million this year in an arbitration settlement with three years of eligibility in that process remaining through 2021.
Syndergaard claimed there have been “no discussions” with the organization about a longterm deal, although that surely can change if he returns to the dominant form he showed in going 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA and 218 strikeouts in 2016.
Still just 25, he also already has shown the ability and willingness to embrace the pressure of the big stage as a rookie in the team’s 2015 World Series loss to Kansas City.
“I kind of got that sense just watching him from the other side of the field,” noted new pitching coach Dave Eiland, who served in that capacity for the 2015 champion Royals. “It’s hard for me to speak on any of these guys on a personal level because I haven’t been around them. But he’s pretty impressive from the other dugout watching him.”
Eiland and Callaway will get their first chance to watch Syndergaard throw a bullpen session in person in the coming days, possibly as early as today.
His arm will be firing and those golden locks will be flowing, just like always.