Noah Syndergaard is expected to begin a rehab assignment this week, according to Tim Healey of Newsday Sports. As was previously reported, the Mets are planning on having the hulking righty return as a member of their bullpen, since there’s not enough time remaining in the season for him to be stretched out as a starter. This would be his second rehab assignment of the year, as he attempts to work his way back from undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2020. He had previously had a rehab stint in May, before being shut down due to elbow inflammation. It’s now been almost two years since his last big-league appearance, which was September 29th of 2019. The final few weeks of the season will be tremendously important for both Syndergaard and the Mets. The team needs all the help they can get to pull themselves out of their current nosedive. Despite having the division lead in the NL East as recently as August 5th, they are now in third place and seven games behind the Braves. As for Thor, he is a few weeks away from entering free agency for the first time and could help his own case by showing some health and effectiveness before the season ends.
More from around the NL…
- The Dodgers are planning on reinstating Mookie Betts from the injured list on Thursday, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. The outfielder has been dealing with hip pain all year and is currently in the midst of his second IL placement this season because of it. Despite the nagging hip situation, Betts has still been tremendously valuable when on the field. In 87 games this year, he’s hitting .277/.378/.521, for a wRC+ of 143. Getting him healthy will be a huge boost to the Dodgers as they attempt to chase down the Giants and make up the 2 1/2 games that separate them in the race for the NL West crown.
- The Dodgers could also welcome Joe Kelly back into the fold this week, per Castillo. Kelly was placed on the IL without explanation on August 10th, but a source of Castillo’s confirmed that it was because of a positive COVID test. The righty has seemingly recovered, given that he started a rehab assignment on Friday. He’s done some quality work this year, throwing 29 2/3 innings of 3.34 ERA ball. The bullpen could use his fresh arm, since it’s recently put Garrett Cleavinger and Evan Phillips on the 10-day IL, as well as Jimmy Nelson going under the knife for season-ending Tommy John surgery earlier this month.
- Nico Hoerner left the first game of his rehab assignment today because of tension in his oblique, per Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. Hoerner and the Cubs can afford to play things cautiously, as they are well out of the playoff picture at this point. But the infielder has only been able to play in 39 games this season due to various injuries and would surely like to get some more reps before the winter. The club would also surely love to get more looks at him in action, given that they are going into an offseason with so many potential variables after parting ways with so much of their previous core. When on the field, he has had been effective at the plate this year, slashing .313/.388/.388, producing a wRC+ of 113. He’s also played second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field, meaning that he could fit into the club’s future plans in a variety of ways.
- Freddy Peralta played catch today, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Peralta went on the IL on Thursday with shoulder inflammation and will be eligible to return this coming weekend. The righty is in the midst of an exceptional breakout season, as he’s thrown 121 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA and superb strikeout rate of 34%. Among all pitchers with at least 120 innings this season, that’s the fourth-best ERA and fourth-best K%. The Brewers don’t need to rush him back, as they are 7 1/2 games ahead of the Reds in the NL Central. But assuming he can keep his shoulder in good shape, he’ll form one third of a potentially deadly playoff rotation, alongside Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes.
Another arm ruined by careless Mets. New owner? Doesn’t matter same cursed franchise.
Was he really ruined by the Mets? He’s notoriously stubborn. Pitchers get injured, can’t blame all injuries on team mismanagement.
Cosmo, the voice of reason.
Anti-MetsFan22
When Cohen has 250-280 mil payroll next year…. Good luck.
Will he still be tweeting about how badly his team is playing?
Lol. Already starting on next year?
WhT??? I’m not going to stop talking about thus year… but he can’t get a huge payroll this year. So I obviously said next year… cmon man comment made no sense
“When Cohen has 250-280 mil payroll next year…. Good luck.”
I was replying to this.
“When Cohen has 250-280 mil payroll next year…. Good luck.”
Another @MetsFan22 prediction. Those are always fun.
Another idiotic comment by benighted poster.
Is that the opposite of enlightened?
Syndergaard was injured during previous owner’s reign, am I right?
Actually, Syndergaard pretty much ruined his own arm with all the weightlifting when he wanted to throw more 100 mph pitches than anyone else. True Story.
Furst
Are Mets going to QO Thor? Tough spot, tough to lose a talent like that for nothing. But he’s probably not worth 19M next year
I would. Thor fully recovered in a walk year.. probably get his best. When he rejects it, get a pick.
Seems like the right move.
Do you think he rejects it though? Short of a DeGromian run, idk he turns down 1/19 or so
Missed edit window. But to expand on that, do you think the 120-150? innings that is likely to be expected from Thor will be worth that 19M?
Not trying to rain on any parades, I’m truly curious what fans expect from him
Yes cause it’s a one year deal to see where he is at and I’d think he gets pretty close to that number.
I’d say Cohen gives him the QO and Thor has one full year to prove to all of baseball he’s back. Especially if he gives them anything close (mid-90’?) to what he was for 10-20 innings in September. He might reject it, but it then the Mets will get the pick. Is he worth it? Probably not.But he’s the commitment to home grown talent ( even it is was a trade from the Blue Jays).
I think a 1-year prove-it deal (based on the QO) is exactly what Thor needs. It may bring out the best in him, similar to Stroman this season. Thor wants a big contract, but he’s not going to get it because of his injury history. So I think he accepts the QO and tries to drive his price up through his performance. It could be a huge boost for the Mets. And if it doesn’t work out, it’s only 1 year.
I don’t think he turns it down unless his team thinks (were told) he’d get a big offer elsewhere. Probably be okay taking a 1-yr higher AAV to rebuild his value. It’s a risk given his history but he could cash in.
And one year $19M would be hardly a slap in any pitchers face. Certainly one like Thor who could bet on himself in front of an even greater payday.
In a strange way theinjury was lucky in the sense that the Mets could get a 1-year bargain from a pitcher with ace potential.
The difference between Cohen ownership and Wilpon ownership may be that Cohen has the money so that the Mets could continue to spend in the off-season even if Syndergaard accepted.
I think the Mets really already did signal they’re going to extend a qualifying offer by rendering him a 10M contract for this year.
My logic here is the Mets probably assumed best case scenario, they get Noah back in July/August to what effectiveness, no one knew.
So just by tendering him a contract this year, knowing they weren’t getting a 10M return this year, tells me that the Mets felt like they’re going to absolutely give him a qualifying offer.
The other caveat is, the ownership, GM, President might have insight we don’t know about CBA negotiations.
Maybe that QO becomes different if CBA is negotiated/changed.
But at the very least, I think the Mets signaled the QO by even tendering Noah a contract at 10M this year. You gotta figure they had an option to save 10M and risk some other team signing him and thus getting nothing for Noah, or eat 10M and get something either because Noah resigns and shows healthy performance or he rejects the QO, and the Mets get something for him.
Betts and Kershaw potentially returning for the Dodgers. If they are even close to healthy, that is huge. Betts at 75% with Trea Turner at the the top of that lineup could be amazing. Add Kershaw to a rotation with Buehler, Scherzer and Urias…not bad.
Kershaw might as well be david pricec in the playoffs.. no one is scared of Kershaw and urias
Isn’t David Price the guy who put up a 1.98 ERA in the 2018 World Series while leading the team in innings? And isn’t Kershaw the guy who put up a 2.31 ERA in the 2020 World Series while leading the team in innings. Hmm. Seems to me that what they’ve done lately is pretty impressive.
Not everybody can be like Jon Papelbon and throw up 25 straight scoreless innings in the postseason. Some take a little longer to be good.
Urias owned your ass u tip hit by a pitch
Until* missed edit time
Who’s closing those games? Jansen? Lol.
If you win by 5 and you don’t need a closer
The amount of mlb injuries this season is alarming. I am sure the shortened 2020 season might have a hand but seems player conditioning is poor
I think it’s more the fact that teams think it’s ok for guys to throw as hard they can for as long as they can.
Thor, Hulking… I see what you did there.
I would try real hard to get Thor a two year deal/extension. Like 2/40. Very decent money, a risk more on the Mets side but a little for Thor too if he could have had a solid comeback next year could earn more than $20 mil the following year. But my thinking for the Mets would be the obvious, get two years of Thor. For his thinking, it’s definite money for next year like the qualifying offer but then the definite money for the following year to compensate for risk of down performance first year back and doubters in free agency, but to also just solidify that he is a top line starter too to earn the big bucks in two years at still a young enough age.
Thor is cooked time to move on to someone else.he should not get a dime.He should come back as a non-roster invitee 2022 spring training and prove he is not cooked.
I know starting pitching is in dire shortage, but Syndergaard’s future is probably as a closer. Fewer pitches thrown, less wear and tear, fewer breaking pitches, less holding runner’s on and less thinking.
I would love to see Syndergaard converted into a closer. I agree, he’s such a max effort on every pitch guy, he’d be well served to go to the BP.
What is up with all of the Oblique strains?
Mets fans. I know it’s off topic here but do you want Javy Baez signed and back. Have you seen enough? Do you want to see more?
@cubfan
I think it’s too early to decide. He’s a diva and a “hey, look at me, guy”, but he’s electric. He has WAY too many bad hacks at really bad pitches. He’s going to swing at anything he can reach, makes careless errors and has already shown he isn’t ready physically for games and loses 2 weeks for a stiff back. So what happens as he gets older and his muscles ache more often? What happens when his bat gets even bit slower, causing him to commit early to breaking pitches because he can’t catch up to 98? What happens when he swings like a used car lot anflatamate? How many oh-for 4’s with 3 k’s will there be? How many days does he go without getting base while committing errors? I want to know how the MAN handles failure with his team mates, in his preparation, his actions, his maturity, etc.
Lindor, when he was struggling, tried bunting to get on base and was chastised by Rojas. I, on the other hand, thought it was awesome to see. Maybe he gets on, now the pitcher is in his stretch. Wild pitches move you up. It makes him work another 5-20 pitches. Maybe he moves around on outs and scores on an error, bad pitch, ball. Look, baseball needs more men on base, not striking out 10,000 times a season. Honestly, if those k’s were because the pitchers simply beat them, that’s one thing. But these k’s are from guessing at pitches, not being ready to swing at anything close with 2 strikes trying to protect and foul it off.
It is so obvious that pitchers are smarter than hitters. They “show” you tendencies, make you think you know what is coming and then change the tendency. You can’t think and hit unless you simplify it to: look/attack all fastballs near the strike zone.
: 2 strikes, swing at anything close.
: ahead in the count, ambush fastballs
: behind in the count, shorten the swing and put it in play
: if you can’t beat a shift, you shouldn’t be in the majors because really, you can’t hit. LEARN TO TAKE WHAT THEY GIVE YOU. Gotta shift on? Look for ANY PITCH away and drive it that way. If you can’t do that, you can’t hit at the major league level.
I’m becoming more and more convinced that many hitters are just super hero-like athletes, amazingly physically gifted and can do things most humans can’t dream of. But thinking and properly applying known data trends?
If Jeff McNeil sees three infielders on his pull side every single at bat, why won’t he learn to alter his stance in the box, change his bat grip, change the bat itself, change his approach or learn to hit any middle out pitch to the opposite field? What does he DO pregame during batting practice? Conforto is in the same boat. Hell, even Pete goes to right when he has two strikes, gets his hits, rolls over the lineup and makes the pitcher work more.
I would love to watch a special documentary on real teams’ hitting theories and applications. Maybe a, “How the batters box has changed over time.” Then have discussions and clips with hitters from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and today. Coaches too, and even from pitchers as to how they got them out.
Thor has,in his career, shown he can throw hard but he has never shown he can pitch. His value resides in what he might be not in what he is. And now we add the uncertainty of what he even is because of his surgery. Let’s see how he looks coming out of the bullpen. It might be a good fit for him.
If he looks good coming out of the pen, there’s a good chance the Mets are going to take it to the next step and stretch him out to start. Maybe not this season, but if they offer him the $19 million QO, it will be to start. They, like every team, will be looking for rotation depth. We’ve entered the era where teams need 6 or 7 starters, not 5, in order to build a roster that’s fit for post season
I’m trying to see what I find first – Bigfoot, Elvis, Tupac, extra terrestrial life, Jimmy Hoffa or @WhyNot.
How long will it take for @WhyNot to end up on a milk carton?
Get your Thor Jersey this weekend!!!! That’s where competence goes for the Mets. Very