Noah Syndergaard Injury: Updates on Mets Star's Elbow and Return

Alec NathanJun 22, 2016

New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard suffered an elbow injury during his June 22 start against the Kansas City Royals. While he made his scheduled start on June 27 against the Washington Nationals, it was revealed after the game he is dealing with a bone spur in his elbow.

Continue for updates.

Syndergaard Comments on His Elbow

Thursday, June 30

Syndergaard was on WFAN's Boomer and Carton show on Wednesday and conceded he didn't tell the truth about bone spurs in his elbow (via Yahoo Sports).

“Sometimes it can be a little bit irritating, but the whole reason I basically denied it was because I didn’t want to make it sound like I was making an excuse for my poor performance the other night. There’s no structural damage; as long as I’m staying on my anti-inflammatories, my elbow is feeling great.”

Syndergaard added, courtesy of the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), "[I can] pitch through it with no pain. I'll be ready to go in five days." He continued:

"
"As long as I'm staying on my anti-inflammatories and my mechanics are on point, I'm able to go out there every five days and compete," he said.
[...]
"Honestly, I just think it was because I felt really, really good out there," he said. "My mechanics were kind spiraling out of control. I felt too good. I was trying to throw it harder and harder, and it doesn't work like that. ... I was sacrificing location."
"

"There's nothing structurally wrong with my elbow at all," said Syndergaard on June 27, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

"It was just a little thing I was feeling that wasn’t allowing me to finish my pitches and compete to the fullest ability that I’m able to compete at," Syndergaard said on June 24, per Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. "So I just told them that, hey, something is bothering me a little bit. The MRI turned out to be perfect, just a little something that flared up. I’ll be ready to go on Monday, though."

Syndergaard Will Not Need Surgery

Tuesday, June 28

DiComo reported Syndergaard will not need to go under the knife to fix his bone spur, unlike his teammate Stephen Matz, who will need surgery at some point for his own bone spur, per DiComo.

Syndergaard to Keep Pitching Despite Bone Spur

Monday, June 27

After Syndergaard lasted just three innings and gave up a season-high five runs against the Nationals on Monday, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reported he is pitching with a bone spur in his left elbow.

Syndergaard MRI Shows No Damage

Wednesday, June 22

Rubin reported Syndergaard's MRI came back clean and he has been cleared to resume his normal routine.

Syndergaard Emerging as One of MLB's Best Pitchers

The 23-year-old emerged as an integral piece of the team's vaunted rotation as a rookie, and he rounded out his first year in the majors with a 9-7 record, 3.24 ERA and 1.047 WHIP. He also tallied the only win among Mets pitchers during the team's 2015 World Series clash with the Kansas City Royals.

"At the end of the season, this guy was a bona fide major league pitcher who commanded respect from his teammates because of the way he worked, the way he went about things," manager Terry Collins said, per the New York Post's Ken Davidoff. "And commanded respect from the other side of the field. So he made huge strides, and I think we’re going to see the results of it."

This season, Syndergaard had notched a 8-3 record to go with a 2.49 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.

Any sort of extended absence from the ace won't bode well for the Mets' chances, but Collins' club has enough depth to withstand a missed start or two.

With Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Bartolo Colon and Steven Matz all integral pieces of New York's rotation, the Mets can take solace in the fact a minor injury won't squash their grand aspirations.

However, anything more would serve as a legitimate cause for concern.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.