Mets manager Luis Rojas gave an update on a number of injured pitchers before Saturday's matchup with the Nationals, and the most notable was the progress of Noah Syndergaard.
Rojas told reporters that Syndergaard faced live hitters on Saturday in the next phase of his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The righty threw one inning and Rojas said the report from his intrasaquad game was a positive one, as he hit 97 mph on the radar gun and remains on schedule for a potential mid-June return.
"I actually watched Noah pitch today from a live feed we have here," Rojas said. "He pitched an inning today, faced batters and looked really good from what I saw. He had the reads on his pitches."
Carlos Carrasco is still working his way back from a torn hamstring, and has remained at four innings, which he did again recently. The Mets will need a fifth starter by the time they face the Cardinals next week, but Rojas said it's not likely Carrasco would be ready to go by then, though it likely won't be long after that.
"We'll see how he feels after this one," Rojas said. "He's stayed at four innings, he hasn't thrown five…right now, that's something we haven't talked about. Right now, I'm going to say I don't think so, but we can reassess that."
Rojas said the second week of May could be a realistic mark for Carrasco to make his Mets debut.
Seth Lugo, who had surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow prior to the season, has thrown two bullpens in his path back to game action, while Drew Smith faced live hitters in an intrasquad game as he works his way back from a shoulder injury.
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