It’s been a busy offseason for New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
Not only did he recently announce the launching of his new book club, but the one they call Thor also looks to be building momentum towards a return from Tommy John surgery.
In an Instagram video posted by Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the right-hander was seen throwing a bullpen session on Friday — and yes, for those wondering, he did it shirtless.
#Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard threw a bullpen session at Cressey sports performance on Friday.
Previous reports have indicated that Syndergaard, who is rehabbing March 2020 TJ surgery, is ahead of schedule and is targeting a return date of May/June pic.twitter.com/hof7azcadh
— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) January 30, 2021
Following TJ surgery last March, Syndergaard has been spending his days rehabbing at CSP with Eric Cressey and physical therapist Eric Schoenberg.
According to Schoenberg, they are taking a different approach with Syndergaard to prevent future injury risk by focusing on his limberness and mechanics.
“We believe the primary cause of the UCL tear could be that he has such a high average fastball velocity (and has for a long time), so going forward we agreed that improving the mobility of his joints and soft tissue, along with improving his athleticism and rotational power would help reduce stress to the arm upon his return to pitching,” Schoenberg told MetsMerized back in August.
By late July, Syndergaard began throwing from a short distance with Mets 2020 second-round draft pick J.T. Ginn, who also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020. Fast forward to November when Syndergaard posted a video to his Instagram page throwing from 60-feet off of a flat mound.
Now, he appears to be back in full force by the looks of his latest bullpen session, which is a good sign for the Mets and their rotation this season. However, don’t expect to see the right-handed flamethrower back with the club until at least after Memorial Day as Mets team president Sandy Alderson told SNY that a realistic estimate for Syndergaard’s return would be in June.The Mets have been linked to high priced free agent Cy Young award winner Trevor Bauer, who is reportedly seeking an AAV of $36 million. Regardless of whether or not they sign Bauer, a healthy Syndergaard added to the mix by early-summer would give the team an incredibly talented group of starters joining: Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, David Peterson and Carlos Carrasco.
Syndergaard’s last full season in the big leagues came in 2019, where he struggled with his slider command in an inconsistent campaign going 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA, 1.234 WHIP and 3.60 FIP in 32 starts. While he did strike out 202 batters, he also gave up a career-worst 24 home runs and allowed the most earned runs (94) in baseball.
In five career seasons, Syndergaard has flashed star potential putting up a 47-30 record, 15.7 rWAR and 3.31 ERA, but injuries to his lat muscle and UCL have caused him to miss significant time in the past four-years.
The 28-year-old is set to make $9.7 million this season before hitting the free-agent market next offseason — and a healthy and productive 2021 campaign would certainly be beneficial for both sides.
