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New York Mets SP Noah Syndergaard is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Tuesday afternoon. Syndergaard could be out at least until April 2021 due to the tear in his UCL. The Mets are now down a SP pitcher for the upcoming season
New York Mets starter Noah Syndergaard has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery in the near future, sources tell ESPN. The procedure will keep him out until at earliest April 2021 and likely into the summer months.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 24, 2020
Right now, MLB is on a break due to the coronavirus outbreak concern. Once the season resumes, the Mets will be left with Jacob deGrom, Rick Porcello, Marcus Stroman and Steven Matz in the rotation. It’s still a deep group but not having Thor the entire season hurts.
Synergaard, 27, is coming off his worst MLB season with the Mets. He had a 4.28 ERA and a 2.3 WAR over 32 starts in 2019. Thor still had over a K per inning with over 200 strikeouts, but allowed a career-high 24 HRs. Syndergaard will enter arbitration in 2021 and his first crack at free agency would be 2022. That could be his path to getting back from Tommy John. The track record isn’t great but we’ve seen pitchers come back from it in the past.