Mets injury update: Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey resume throwing

Both Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey returned to throwing a baseball this afternoon at Citi Field. This comes just three days after GM Sandy Alderson hinted that both could pick up a baseball in the near future when he met with the press on Friday before the series against the Rockies.

Noah Syndergaard is working his way back from a lat injury he sustained on April 30 against the Nationals. This injury famously came on the heels of him refusing an MRI after he developed biceps tendinitis and had to be scratched from his scheduled start. There is no evidence that the lat injury was connected to the original arm injury, but it ended up not being a good look for all parties involved.

The big righty had been relatively healthy since getting his call-up in 2015 and took to Twitter to express his excitement about taking a step forward in the rehab process.

Pitching coach Dan Warthen suggested that Syndergaard could be used out of the bullpen once he is healthy enough to return but Alderson said that might not necessarily be the case.

As for Matt Harvey, he has had a tumultuous season coming off surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. His struggles came to a head in mid-June when he had a sharp decrease in velocity on his pitches. He was diagnosed with stress injury to the scapula bone and placed on the disabled list. Warthen recently discussed Harvey’s injury and said that the muscles in Harvey’s right shoulder had atrophied. The muscle loss could explain why Harvey would be unable to maintain his strength and velocity in the later innings in games he pitched.

After throwing today, both pitchers discussed what it was like to be back after dealing with their injuries.

Seeing the two star pitchers throwing again is an encouraging sight for the Mets, who are still in desperate need of starting pitching. However, one would hope the two are fully healthy before they attempt to come back in what is most likely a lost season.