11:55pm: There was plenty more discussion of Syndergaard’s situation today, though details on what to expect remain scant. As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports, Alderson suggested only that the absence is “going to be measured in weeks” rather than days. He also defended the organization’s medical staff and decisionmaking process while making clear that he decided to allow Syndergaard to take the hill.
For more, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times discusses the broader build-up to the injury, while Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record argues that the club mishandled the situation.
11:05am: MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports (via Twitter) that the Mets are planning to start Montero in place of Syndergaard this coming Friday, though the long-term option in Syndergaard’s absence remains unknown. Neither Matz nor Lugo is expected back until at least the end of May, so the Mets will need some form of bridge until the end of the month, at the earliest.
10:22am: The Mets announced on Monday that the MRI performed on right-hander Noah Syndergaard this morning revealed a partial tear of his right lat muscle. Per the team, there’s no timetable on his return, but Syndergaard will be placed on the 10-day disabled list. General manager Sandy Alderson will further address the media at 4:00pm ET, according to the Mets’ release.
Syndergaard becomes the second member of the Mets’ rotation and the third Mets starting option to land on the disabled list less than one month into the season. Left-hander Steven Matz is on the shelf due to a elbow/flexor issue, while right-hander Seth Lugo is currently on the disabled list due to a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Though it’s not certain how long Syndergaard will be sidelined, Newsday’s David Lennon points out that Matz missed roughly two months of the 2015 season with a similar injury to the one revealed by Syndergaard’s MRI (Twitter link).
The injury is not without controversy, as Syndergaard appeared to suffer the injury this past Sunday after refusing an MRI on his ailing biceps. The 24-year-old had been slated to take the hill last Thursday but was scratched from that start and pushed back to Sunday. After it was learned that Syndergaard declined to undergo an MRI, he told the media: “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.”
With Syndergaard headed to the disabled list, the Mets’ rotation will now consist of Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Robert Gsellman. It’s not immediately clear who’ll step into the starting five in his absence, although Sean Gilmartin and Rafael Montero have both worked as starters with Triple-A Las Vegas and are both already on the 40-man roster.
Thanks, Noah… Thanks for screwing up our season, you big child
This team that can’t hit or catch the ball was already in trouble before Thor’s injury
Ugh I’m so sick of the ageist and agephobic comments. Where’s davidcoonce when you need em?
On his soapbox, somewhere.
Actually fellas,I’m at work. But thanks for asking.
^ That’s funny!
Would an MRI reveal this?
Yes
lololololol…THOR IS SORE
didn’t mean to laugh
sorry
“I am… mighty Thor!”
“Well, of courth you’re thor. You tore a lat muthle.”
Aladdin’s Genie (as a reporter): You’re Thor?
Genie (as Thor): Well, it thurts.
Would a biceps MRI have revealed a torn lat?
And was the last torn before the 2nd inning yesterday?
No way as of yet to know when the tear occurred, but yes, the MRI revealed the issue. The Mets’ press release specifically states that. I updated the wording in the first sentence to make that more clear.
I think what ExileInLA is asking is if an initial biceps MRI (the one that Syndergaard initially refused) would have revealed a tear in the lat (had the tear already been there). If not, then it wouldn’t really be fair for fans to blame Syndergaard for not getting the MRI because it wouldn”t have uncovered the lat injury anyway.
I’m assuming so as I don’t think MRIs are typically done in individual body parts, but on the body as a whole.
That’s what I meant.
MRIs are done for a specific area of the body. A look at his biceps would not have revealed a lat strain. In fact, for a biceps injury, why would the team medical staff even be looking for a lat strain?
Sssshhhhh. Stop making sense.
could be he was compensating for the bicep and altered his mechanics putting more stress on his lat…..whatever the case maybe he should have gotten the MRI.
Yes!
Thor is Sore!!
Your rhymes about Thor are a bore!
lol, good one
lol..
cute too
guess Thor is not the Core of the pitching staff, so with the MRI stint, I still have to laugh!
Joke of a franchise! Sad!
Sad!
The Mets Injury Parade marches on!!
Arrogance. Just pure arrogance in refusing that MRI. There is no harm in taking an MRI, only useful knowledge gained.
Said the man without a pacemaker.
Would be funny if that were his reasoning (I know it’s not), but those with pacemakers can now get MRIs safely with the advancement of technology.
Here is an actual medical article about the injury and recovery time.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3981267/
Basically, conservative treatment (no surgery) is 1-3 months. Aggressive treatment (with surgery) is 4-6 months for full recovery. MRI is how they diagnose it.
The Mets say that an MRI revealed the issue, but in actuality, Syndergaard himself determined that it was a torn lat without any help whatsoever. I mean, he’s pretty in tune with his body, so I sincerely doubt something as old fashioned and archaic as an MRI actually revealed anything useful.
Lol
Only a month into the season, and already two, high-profile SPs have taken themselves off the roster by being stupid. Bumgarner for dirtbiking in the middle of the regular season (really dude?), and Syndergaard for refusing an MRI (how childish are we?!)
What’s next? Will Kershaw develop carpal tunnel from playing too many video games? Will Chris Sale stab himself with a scissors while destroying his team’s jerseys?
I’m not an expert on anatomy, but would a lat issue show up on an MRI for his bicep? cause that’s what the initial problem was
Im no expert either, but isn’t an MRI always full body since the whole body is in the machine anyway? Whether they look at the whole scan i guess would matter.
no, they are specific to whatever area is being looked at. A lat injury would not have shown up on a MRI looking at his biceps.
Don’t joke about that stabbing. Adam Eaton actually did that while trying to rip open the plastic of a DVD wrapper. Stabbed himself directly in the abdomin and went to the ER.
Seriously? I realize it isn’t really funny that he had to go to the ER, but a grown man SHOULD know how to handle things like scissors and DVD wrappers.
While we’re on the subject, Jonathan Lucroy’s suitcase says “hello.”
I don’t know. Those DVD wrappers are just evil. They’re horribly designed and an utter pain to open even with scissors. You’ve gotta have a mail opener handy if you want any chance of opening one of those things in a easy manner without wrecking the box art.
Mets are a complete train wreck. Time to sell Harvey, Granderson, Duda, Reyes (sell him to the waiver wire), Familia, Reed, Bruce etc. Actually I’d probably trade everyone on the 25-man roster other than Conforto, Syndergaard, and DeGrom.
Cespedes?
No trade clause
The mets need to work on their farm to produce something other than pitchers. 2017 and again the Yankees are stealing the show. Wake up management! Time to rebuild around their young pitchers. Do they have any exciting position players coming up?
Dominick Smith. Ahmed Rosario
Rosario, Smith, cechini, conforto if they would give him consistent playing time
Tim Tebow.
Sorry. Had to.
my fantasy!
This is a ploy by the mets to make sure syndergaard does not get super 2 status. Why do u think he refused the mri he knew the mets would lie about the results to save money. How else do u explain all these guys getting hurt? The mets are doing it as a creative way to save money. They could not afford the cespedes contract now they sre finding ways to make that money back.
If you get injured while on the MLB roster, you still accrue MLB service time. So your conspiracy makes no sense.
They get insurance money.
What does insurance money have to do with whether or not a player gets super 2 status?
Please provide evidence that the mets have an insurance policy on Syndergaard and that they’d be able to collect on it for an injury as minimal as this.
Syndergaard is making less than 1m this year. He is far more valuable to the mets on the field than collecting any sort of insurance payment would be even if one existed.
You’re really reaching.
I read about a player in the draft last week that made 500k because he slipped in the draft. This stuff happens all the time. You can insure him on the side which u can bet the mets did. They stand to make a lot of money here believe me.
Oh yeah, believe you? Sure thing Mr. No facts.
Those insurance policies are really expensive, so only the big long-term deals get insured. They probably wouldn’t even break even in this kind of situation.
Exactly. And why bother insuring a $600,000 contract? That’s pocket change. The only contracts that get insured are those big free agent deals. And that insurance costs a small fortune for pitchers because the risk of serious injury is nearly 100%.
It was Jake Butt, who is, ironically, a tight end. He and his family took out insurance on himself before playing in his team’s bowl game. (A lot of top NFL draft picks no longer play in bowl games for risk of injury). Butt tore an ACL during the bowl game, and the insurance policy kicked in when he was selected in the 5th round rather than in the first. (I believe he was a consensus top-10 pick).
But this kind of thing doesn’t apply to this situation. Teams take out insurance on long-term contracts, not their pre-arb players. Prince Fielder’s contract, for example, was insured and Texas recoups most of that money. I doubt an insurance company would cover a 600K contract or whatever Thor is making now. The premium would be too low to justify the policy.
I don’t think you can lie about an MRI easily…seeing a muscle tear isn’t that difficult. They would literally have to show him someone else’s MRI which would have violated some sort of part of their contract. Highly illegal.
They have a cheerleader as manager. “TC” let’s chaos rule the clubhouse. So when Cespedes is running all out in cold, wet weather he could have said, “hey big guy. Appreciate you running all out–however we need you to play close to 162. So skip the all out running right now.” Instead he is on the DL. What a dope.
But now he can play golf more.
Man’s a fine pitcher, but a lousy MD.
Obviously its never gunna happen, but I will forever imagine a world where we can actually see full healthy teams battle it out. Healthy Nats vs healthy Mets, that would be some excellent baseball.
As an outsider (not a Mets fan), it definitely seems to be poor handling by this organization that they suffer so many injuries so often.
Montero? that’s another shelling
“Mmm….that’s a shelling”
Well you can’t blame Dusty Baker for the Mets pitching staff injurys! Thor No More! Any pitcher who signs a extension or signs though free agency with the Mets should ask for a MRI Machine for their home!!!
Well, I for one am happy.
Why would an injury make you happy? Sportsmanship, my man, sportsmanship.
Its not the injury as much as my disdain for ignorance. He could have been safe and helped everyone out, but because he didn’t now he has to pay for it. People need to start thinking about their organizations.
He’s a professional athlete that can make his own decisions. We may disagree wit his choices but why should he get an MRI that will tell him he can’t pitch, while he thinks he still can. He wanted to keep pitching which is what you all want but now your just getting mad because it diddnt work out for you.
Using that logic, should a player with a minor hamstring pull be allowed to play because he thinks he can or wants to? Sometimes, the science of medicine is as much about preventing more serious injuries as it is about healing…
Why should he get an MRI that tells him he can’t pitch when he thinks he still can…Did you see what happened Sunday? That is why players with mild injuries rest them until they heal.
I completely understand the argument, but if thinks he can pitch why can’t he pitch? Now we now what happened, but before Sunday we did not.
That is just awful logic. Just because he ‘thinks he can’ does not mean that he should.
It’s his choice and he can choose to do what he wants. I’m sorry but the players do not work for us, we do not choose what they do. He chose to keep pitching which is what he is paid to do, and now he is going to have to deal with it.
Because his contract gives the team a vested interest in his health. He is not a fully independent decision maker on health matters as a result of signing a guaranteed contract.
I mean your probably right about that, but have have you ever signed an MLB contract like his? If not how do you know what it says?
Regardless of what the contract says, if a manager decides to not pencil your name in as the starter nor bring you in to pitch in relief, the organization is exercising its ability to not play you regardless of your confidence/desire….
I have read the standard MLB contract, which is very likely what Thor signed.
He screwed the team in two straight starts with the pitching staff ill prepared. If he didn’t take the MRI they should have sent him down to the minors.
Every other team has law and order for the good of the group. The Mets are leaderless with a bunch of prima Donna’s.
He is a selfish player.
But is his hair okay?
Why would he not have just gotten the MRI originally???!!! The truth is that he doesn’t know his body best, clearly the doctors do
Bartolo Colon is available at the right price….
R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia also are looking decent and are innings eaters, if they do want to compete this year.
Can’t have them.. sorry..
Garcia and RA have fips of 5 ranking 17th and 20th worst of 105 pitchers.
Garcia and Dickey have fips of 5 ranking 17th and 20th worst of 105 pitchers.
Why do the mets like trading with the braves so much?
When your medical staff is so bad that your 23 year old ace thinks he knows more than them.
And your coach for listening to him over the medical staff.
Or even the manager…..
Or anybody…. might as well listen to a fan.
The Mets have consistently had so many injuries to their pitching staff that you have to call into question their conditioning and training staff and procedures. It’s not just a few of the pitchers, its all of them and it has been for several years in a row. Time to change how they do things or change the people. What they are doing isn’t working.
Are the pitcher injuries the result of building a staff of guys who throw with max effort on every pitch? In other words, that’s pitching strategy, not medical competence
If Terry Collins were smart, he would have refused to let Noah start until he got an MRI on his biceps. Now it only made things just worse
Sure you can’t force the player to get an MRI, but you can certainly threaten them to bench or not start them until they listen to their team’s doctors/trainers (even though the Mets probably have some of the worst of those in the game)
Exactly. His arrogance and refusal to do the MRI just cost the team in the long run now. I still stand by statement in the other Syndergaard post by saying that MLB should look into fining the team/Syndergaard for this whole debacle.
entire mets starters to dl. fire that pitching coach. then again, for the rest of the nl east, keep em.
The Mets weren’t going anywhere anyway. This was largely determined by the moves the organization has made over the past two off seasons, not this or any other injury (all of which are part of the game). The Mets’ fanbase is continually suckered in by the “front” the Wilpons’ put on trying to make the organization look like it’s trying to contend.
Sneaking into the playoffs last year (despite injuries) was the result of a lot of factors (including luck), but it doesn’t change the fact that the team got worse from 2015 to 2016, and were relying on better health, not improvements, to not see another dip heading into to 2017.
After the 2015 season, the team let one of its 2 middle of the order hitters walk, and needed luck and drama to not also lose the other. Also “sold” the fanbase on David Wright still being able to play, so the gaping hole at 3B didn’t look so bad. They put some band aids on some issues, and ignored others, and pretended their staff alone would make them a contender. After 2016, they doubled down on the nonsense. They touted how they brought back two players (Cespedes and Walker) as a substitute for upgrading.
The roster, in terms of position players, is among the bottom 10 in the game. Among the very worst at 3B and C, The OF consists of 4 corner OFs, meaning one has to sit and another play out of position in CF, everyday. The situation at 1B would be OK for a rebuilding team (not a contender) – as they pretend Duda might be a real player there if he can stay healthy (when, in reality, he’s platoon player who can’t field the position) while waiting a prospect. Middle IF consists of a “rented” pair of veteran middle IFs who are average – above on offense, and below on defense. The defensive alignment on a daily basis is among the very worst in MLB.
Sorry, but that’s not what contenders look like. regardless of their pitching That was true before NS went down, and its still true.
Every team’s season is largely based on a huge quantity of luck every year.
Also not sure how you classify Duda as “not a real player”.
And bringing back Cespedes wasn’t a non-move. They couldn’t upgrade beyond him. Bringing him back was a coup.
You say the MI is a pair of “rented” veterans. They signed Cabrera to what, a two year deal with an option (I think)? Does that make him rented? Should they have signed him for 6 years?? He played great last year. Every single team “rents” players.
The outfield situation isn’t ideal but a lot of teams would kill to have that problem. Not sure why that’s a focus for you.
You’re the worst kind of fan.
having 4 corner outfielders and no center fielder isn’t exactly ideal for most teams
Hey Joe…you need to look beyond the top of your long nose which is enlarged with your story telling. You speak so highly of guys that string a few months or one season together of acceptable play and make them into all stars. The Mets are a poorly constructed team operating in a top tier city with a shoe string budget.
I enjoy watching you defend mediocrity. It’s the justification for the Wilpons to cheap out on other fans.
Keep up the good work. Lol
If I’m correct Ray Ramirez has been with this team since 2003. If their was a way to check I would bet the Mets have had more guys in the DL than any other team since then. In 2009 every single player except the one guy was in the DL. I think they went through, literally 5 SS that year. That one guy the was the everyone wanted on the DL (Luis Castillo) I think he even got a standing ovation the last game of the season. And the one pitcher to make it through, I believe, Pelfrey. Bobby Cox said in his many years if baseball he has never seen so many injuries on one team. Ray Ramirez is not completely to blame however maybe it’s time for this guy to get out of here.
Correction I apologize 2009 saw 21 players hit the DL with 1,480 on that DL.
Interesting set of comments. When players get hurt too frequently, we criticize them for being soft and question whether they are really willing to tough it out. Matz and Hill are excellent examples of that. But when a player goes old school, “rubs some dirt on it” refuses a scan or treatment, and then goes out, we call him arrogant and childish.
Facts: players still do not understand that unless they are at 95% or better health, they are replacement level. Playing hurt only hurts your team.
While it is true that too many fans like to call injured players “soft”, there is a vast difference between “rubbing dirt on it” and refusing a diagnostic treatment.
Toughing out a spike wound, a jammed finger, or a bruise is one thing; refusing to see if there is something serious with your pitching arm is another thing entirely.
Braves could trade Bartolo Colon, RA Dickey or Jaime Garcia for Brandon Nimmo and Jerry Blevins.
Yes, this could happen… in the same reality where the Red Sox could trade Pablo Sandoval for Mike Trout.
What an embarrassment to the game this situation is. Next time some idiot athlete tells you they’re “fine”, DONT BELIEVE THEM
if Gsmellman doesn’t improve, he needs to be optioned to triple-a
If they need rotation depth, Garza hasn’t looked to bad and he would cost them very little. Possibly under team control for next year too for like $1 million-$5 million based on his vesting option.
They just have nobody to eat innings right now without getting shelled.
Maybe like Phillip Evans for Garza and cash?
Just an idea.
Players are different employees all that money regardless of performance – or not – and guarantee…
An MRI of the bicep would not reveal a torn lat, period. So irrespective of whether he had taken the MRI he still would have got a torn lat, or he already had a torn lat that may have referred pain elsewhere.
The MRI that revealed his torn lat was obviously an MRI of his whole back area, not his bicep, but they may have scanned his whole body, or from the waist up to reveal the injury, which wouldn’t have been done with an MRI of his bicep. End of story.