Noah Syndergaard’s return to the MLB has been put on hold, according to New York Mets manager Luis Rojas. In a chat with reporters on Thursday, Rojas confirmed that Syndergaard was shut down due to inflammation in his right elbow and will be out for at least the next six weeks.
While the Mets remain optimistic, Syndergaard could be out for an even longer stretch and is in danger of missing the rest of the year if his elbow doesn’t respond well to therapy.
“This happening is tough… We pray that he can pitch for us this year,” said Rojas.
Syndergaard was diagnosed with a torn UCL in the same elbow in early 2020 and had to undergo a Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire season and was just making his return to pitching in May, with plans to become active again officially in June.
The 28-year-old slinger was featured in two games for the Mets’ Class A affiliate St. Lucie but only managed to go through five innings. He threw 44 pitches in four innings in his first game while exiting the second game after 16 pitched due to soreness in his elbow.
Luckily for Syndergaard, his UCL didn’t suffer any structural damage, so he won’t have to go through another procedure.
Syndergaard is on a one-year, $9.7 million deal this season and is set to become a free agent. He spent his entire MLB career with the Mets and currently has a 47–30 record with a 3.31 ERA and 775 strikeouts.
