Major League Baseball

New York Mets: Noah Syndergaard Likely to Miss Three Months

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:25 p.m. ET

Fansided, Xavier Alatorre/FanSided via Call to the Pen

The initial assessment of Noah Syndergaard's injury was that he would miss a few starts. The news turned grim when New York Mets' General Manager Sandy Alderson said Syndergaard's recovery would be measured in weeks. Now the flamethrowing righty could be out a bit longer.

Noah Syndergaard's official diagnosis was a partial tear of his right lat muscle, the New York Mets said in a statement according to MLB Trade Rumors. Syndergaard's injury woes began April 27 when he was scratched from his start due to discomfort in his biceps. The 24-year-old said he felt great and denied a request to undergo an MRI. "I think I know my body best. I'm pretty in tune with my body, and that's exactly why I refused to take the MRI," he told ESPN.com. Syndergaard started for the Mets the following Sunday, April 30.

More from Call to the Pen

However, Syndergaard did not pitch the full nine innings or anything close to it. He left his start after only completing 1.1 innings. He gave up four earned runs on five hits. The following day the Mets reported that an MRI was performed on Syndergaared and it revealed a partial tear on his right lat muscle. The ballclub placed the right-hander on the 10-day DL.

But in a grim turn of events, Noah Syndergaard is now expected to miss three months, as reported Joel Sherman of the New York Post. In fact, three months is a conservative estimate.

The Mets rotation is already hampered by injuries. Seth Lugo and Steven Matz have not made a start this season. With the exception of Jacob deGrom, it is also poor performance that has beset the club. Zack Wheeler has an ERA north of 4.00; Matt Harvey's is north of 5.00. Combined they have allowed 34 earned runs and have given up 10 home runs.

It is a tough hill to climb for the Mets without Syndergaard. However, without their towering ace, the club managed to win their series against the Washington Nationals. They also managed to scrape four wins out of their last six games, edging them into third place in the NL East. While putting together months of play like this may be unlikely, the Mets have built around starting pitching, so if everyone performs as expected, they'll still have a shot.