Noah Syndergaard and the Mets have avoided arbitration again.
Syndergaard and the team agreed on a $9.7 million deal for the 2021 season, a source confirms to the Daily News. It’s the same deal the two sides agreed to prior to the 2020 season.
Reaching agreement with Syndergaard knocks one more thing off the Mets’ to-do list heading into a new season. Syndergaard, however, won’t be ready to join the Mets rotation until sometime in June. That’s the latest timetable put on Syndergaard’s return from Tommy John surgery by team president Sandy Alderson last week.
It’s still unclear if the 2021 season will start on time due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Syndergaard was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow last spring, just days after Mets spring training Part 1 was shut down in March because of COVID-19. He had the surgery in West Palm Beach, Fla. on March 27 and missed the entire 60-game, pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Syndergaard last pitched on March 8 against the Astros in a Grapefruit League game.
On Nov. 13, a shirtless Syndergaard was seen on video throwing off a mound. New Mets owner Steve Cohen sent his well wishes in response: “Good luck with the rehab and can’t wait to see you back on the mound next year.”
“From what I’ve heard, he’s on schedule or maybe a little bit ahead of schedule,” manager Luis Rojas said on Dec. 18. “You know how Noah works and goes about it. He’s a hard worker. He’s a guy that was going to face this surgery and rehab the best you could face it, so he’s doing it as we expected.”
If all goes well next season, Syndergaard might also get what he’s been hoping for, at least since earlier this year, and that’s one big payday.
“It’s getting close to crunch time for me,” he said in February. “My window is closing for maximizing a potential big-time extension or free-agent contract. You look at Gerrit Cole’s path that he took. Him and I had very similar numbers at the same age, the same point in our careers. If I could follow his footsteps, that’s a really nice payday.”
The flame-throwing righty exploded onto the scene in Flushing in 2015 after coming to the Mets as part of the R.A, Dickey trade with the Blue Jays, finished with a 3.24 regular season ERA and then earning two postseason wins during the Amazin’s World Series run). He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. He followed that up with a career-best 2.60 ERA in 2016, was named an All-Star and was in MVP and Cy Young conversations. He started the Mets’ Wild Card game against the Giants.
His effectiveness and ERA has suffered since and he had a career-worst 4.68 ERA and was tagged with a career-worst 94 earned runs in 2019.
He has his work cut out for him he he wants to get anything close to Cole money (9 years, $324 million), but it is clear he is excited about the direction of the club.
Aside from posting a gif of a person running through a brick wall on Twitter the day Cohen was named the new owner, his Twitter bio also said: “Dear Steve Cohen, Hi, I’m Noah. Some ppl call me Thor. I’m a Met, working out in Florida, and I just want to win for Mets fans just like you.”
Syndergaard, 28, is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season.
