Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Noah Syndergaard teased Mets fans for eight days after the team offered him a one-year $18.4 million qualifying offer.
The once star pitcher galavanted around New York City on social media. He sat courtside at a Knicks game, posted photos of ‘I heart New York’ street art, attended New York comedy festivals. Everything appeared like a lock he’d end up back in Queens for at least one more season.
But on the inside, Syndergaard wanted out. Newsday’s David Lennon reports the Mets had a sense that Syndergaard was looking for a chance to re-set outside of New York. Somewhere he didn’t have to worry about the pressure of the city. And in the end, it wasn’t about the money.
Syndergaard agreed to a one-year $21 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. What better place for a fresh start than the opposite coast?
Lennon says Syndergaard never gave the Mets a chance to counter the Angels’ offer and only informed the team after he already boarded a flight to take an impending physical.
Yet, the Mets weren’t surpassing the qualifying offer amount, according to Lennon.
The Mets didn’t let Syndergaard leave because they didn’t want to offer him a few million dollars more. They wanted him back. Syndergaard didn’t. Now he joins the “what could have been” group of five Mets pitchers as the latest departure. If the Mets don’t re-sign Michael Conforto or Jeurys Familia, Jacob deGrom will be the last remaining piece from the 2015 World Series team. deGrom is already the last Met standing out of Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Steven Matz.
