Noah Syndergaard pitched in a game setting for the first time since 2019 on Thursday night, tossing one inning in his first rehab appearance as he works his way back from a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
The Mets righty threw just one inning of work, and got off to a rocky start by allowing a leadoff home run to Lamar Sparks on a 95 mph fastball, but recovered to retire three of the next four batters he faced, tallying a strikeout and a hit by pitch to finish his night after 16 pitches, completing the one inning of work he was expected to put in.
“It felt great to be out there again,” Syndergaard said afterward. Especially after the setback I had three months ago. Any time you have that sort of setback with that sort of injury in rehab, it’s a little scary.”
Syndergaard’s setback, which occurred in May when he felt discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow, was believed to have occurred as a result of the stress he puts on his elbow when throwing his nasty slider, and as a result, he threw none on Thursday night. In fact, he has been advised by doctors not to throw the pitch for the rest of the season.
“It’s been their understanding that that’s the reason I might’ve had that setback, because of the amount of torque and high velocity when I throw my sliders,” Syndergaard said. “So that definitely could’ve been the reason I had that setback.”
Syndergaard also decided it would be best on his elbow to ditch his curveball as well, leaving him with just his fastball and changeup the rest of this season, which makes him a prime bullpen candidate if he returns to the Mets before the season comes to a close.
Syndergaard’s slider has been one of his best weapons in his career. He generated a higher chase rate with the slider than any other pitch in 2019, though he was already using it less that season, throwing it 15 percent of the time compared to 20 percent in 2018. He threw his curveball 16.3 percent of the time in 2019, per Statcast.
But for the rest of his rehab and the rest of this season, Syndergaard will have a two-pitch arsenal as concerns about his elbow linger. But most importantly, after nearly a year and a half away from competitive baseball, Syndergaard took a big step forward in his quest to finally rejoin the Mets.
“I’m definitely over rehabbing, it’s getting pretty monotonous,” Syndergaard said. “I’m ready to go out and there and compete with the guys and hopefully make a late-season push for the playoffs.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch