Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard has not pitched in almost two full years due to Tommy John surgery. The long journey back from injury appears to have has taken a toll on the 28-year-old.
To this day, he is “still trying to figure out exactly what it all means.”
“I still think about to this day when I was in the doctor’s office, and I got the news from the surgeon that I would need Tommy John surgery, and it was absolutely devastating,” Syndergaard said on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” Monday night.
“But it’s all about perception and how you tackle things in the future. And so, I just saw it as a challenge, and I’m still getting challenged to this day.”
Syndergaard, whose last big-league appearance was on Sept. 29, 2019, started the long, strenuous journey in March 2020. Typically, the recovery time from such an injury is 12-to-15 months. His rehab assignment was paused in May when he experienced elbow soreness. After initially hoping he’d be back by now, the Mets could get the right-hander back by September.
“I don’t like putting timelines on things, but hopefully I’m reaching all those benchmarks,” Syndergaard said.
The Mets (47-40) went into the All-Star break in first place in the NL East. The Mets may still be active in trying to add pitching before the July 30 trade deadline despite Syndergaard and Carlos Carrasco making progress. Acting general manager Zack Scott said he isn’t making “assumptions” about those two and would view their returns as a “bonus.”