Mets’ right-handed starter Noah Syndergaard has had a tumultuous time since debuting with the team in 2015.

The 27-year-old rose to stardom in 2016 after putting up a 6.0 fWAR season, but appeared in just seven games in 2017, in what turned out to be a disastrous year overall for New York.

Syndergaard has yet to reach another 6.0 fWAR season, but has put up 8.6 fWAR in his last two seasons combined.

The Texas native is one of the most talented pitchers in baseball, there’s no doubt about it, but now that he is entering his peak years, the Mets need Syndergaard to reach a new level.

Over the last couple seasons, Syndergaard has been the subject of a plethora of trade rumors. However, this winter, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the team won’t be trading the five-year veteran. This was more or less confirmed when the team let Zack Wheeler walk via free agency.

Losing Wheeler was a big blow to the Mets’ starting rotation. Over the last two years, Wheeler had been arguably better than Syndergaard, or at least on par, as the now Philadelphia Phillie put up almost 9 fWAR the last two years.

The Mets have made some complimentary moves this winter so far in bringing back reliever Brad Brach, trading for outfielder Jake Marisnick, and signing veterans Michael Wacha and Rick Porcello to take Wheeler’s spot.

However, anytime you lose a pitcher who was worth over 4 fWAR in a year like they did with Wheeler, it’s a tough pill to swallow.

That’s where Syndergaard can step in.

In 2019, Syndergaard put up a 4.28 ERA, 3.60 FIP and a 3.83 xFIP in a career high 197.0 innings pitched.

While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Syndergaard put up some solid advanced stats. His fastball velocity ranked in the 98th percentile according to Baseball Savant, while his exit velocity (89th percentile), xWOBA (83rd percentile), xSLG (78th percentile), hard hit rate (87th percentile) and xBA (65th percentile) are all extremely positive.

After coming off a fully healthy year, the Mets have to hope the righty will repeat that in 2020.

Jacob deGrom will again anchor the rotation, while Marcus Stroman and Steven Matz will provide secondary help in the middle of the rotation. But if Syndergaard can return to 2016 form, it will soften the blow of losing Wheeler and will give New York another bona fide ace in their rotation.