Inside The Mets

Should Mets Consider Reunion With Former Ace on Minor League Deal?

Should the New York Mets take another chance on their former ace starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard? The righty could potentially be worth it on a minor league deal.

Logan VanDine

Sep 28, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard (34) throws against the Miami Marlins during the first inning of game two of a doubleheader at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-Imagn Images
Sep 28, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard (34) throws against the Miami Marlins during the first inning of game two of a doubleheader at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-Imagn Images / Andy Marlin-Imagn Images
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With pitchers and catchers set to report to spring training for the New York Mets in less than two weeks, should they consider bringing one of their former top aces back?

Despite the Mets seeming to have their pitching staff set in both their bullpen and rotation for the 2025 season, the team could possibly kick the tires on a reunion with Noah Syndergaard on a minor league deal.

Syndergaard -- or "Thor" -- his nickname during his time in Queens which came from the famous Marvel super hero -- had his offseason workout posted to X by a Mets fan on Thursday. The righty was seen throwing a bullpen session at TPA Baseball in Texas as he continues to try to make an MLB comeback.

Despite not appearing in the major leagues last season, the 32-year-old looked like his old self during his bullpen. Syndergaard threw in front of scouts last season, but went unsigned by any organization in 2024.

Even though there hasn't been any indication of New York considering the idea of signing Syndergaard for a second go around, there certainly is no downside in doing so at least on a minor league deal to shore up their pitching depth in the upper levels of the minor leagues.

Syndergaard was once viewed as the face of the Mets' rotation after his exceptional rookie season in 2015. In 24 regular season starts in first campaign in the big-leagues, Syndergaard went 9-7 with a 3.24 ERA and had 166 strikeouts across 150 innings with a WHIP of 1.05.

He followed up his impressive rookie season by going 14-9 in 2016 with a career-best 2.60 ERA while making the All-Star team and pitching a gem during the Mets' heartbreaking Wild Card loss to the San Francisco Giants that year. However, he hasn't been the same since then due to injuries.

From an injury-shortened season in 2017 and up-and-down years in both 2018 and 2019, as well as missing all of 2020, and all but two appearances in 2021 due to rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery, Syndergaard failed to pitch like the ace he was seen as.

Even though Syndergaard was fairly consistent when he spent the 2022 season with both the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies, going 10-10 in 25 games (24 starts), it went all down hill from there.

When the Los Angeles Dodgers opted to bring in Syndergaard for the 2023 season on a one-year deal, he made just 12 starts for them going 1-4 with a woeful 7.16 ERA across 55.1 innings pitched. He was placed on the injured list on June 8 as a result of recurring blisters on his pitching hand. A month and a half later, Syndergaard was traded to the Cleveland Guardians on July 26.

The right-hander's performance didn't get much better with Cleveland as he posted a 5.40 ERA in six starts and was ultimately designated for assignment then released on August 31.

After a one year absence from major league baseball, Syndergaard could still be looked at as a low-risk, high-reward depth arm.

The Mets' rotation currently features: Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes and potentially Tylor Megill, Paul Blackburn, or Griffin Canning as back-end options. That said, you can never have too much pitching.

Even though Manaea had a great first season for the Mets that saw him set a new career-high in innings, the lefty is now 33 and there are questions if he can repeat his strong 2024 season which ended with him showing signs of being exhausted due to a heavy workload.

Plus, will Senga stay healthy? Senga made all but one start last season as well as three postseason appearances where he wasn't as sharp as expected.

As for the rest of New York's projected rotation, Holmes has not been a starter in the major leagues since 2018 and Montas has battled through injuries and inconsistencies over the last couple of seasons. The Mets are also hoping Peterson's career year in 2024 was no fluke either.

To be frank, the Mets rotation may not be the team's strongest attribute for the 2025 season. That could be the reason why they have reportedly been involved in trade talks with the San Diego Padres regarding Dylan Cease. But with Cease not being a likely option for the Mets due to the Padres' high asking price for a rental arm, Syndergaard may be the next best thing for this rotation, depth-wise.

Bringing back Syndergaard on at least a minor league deal could be a win-win for the Mets. With the rotation being a little shaky entering the 2025 season, you can never have too much depth. If he can stay healthy and revert back to being at least serviceable, maybe Syndergaard can become a reliable relief pitcher. That could also help him regain some of his velocity that he used to be known for prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020.

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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan VanDine is a contributing writer for On SI's Mets. Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work at On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports. Give him a follow on X: @VandineLogan

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