Second opinion confirms Noah Syndergaard’s strained finger ligament

Noah Syndergaard received a second opinion on his injured index finger earlier today, and it confirmed a strained ligament in his right index finger. There is currently no timetable for his return. For now, Syndergaard will rest until the symptoms dissipate and then begin a throwing program.

The lack of timetable is unwelcome news for the Mets, who have had a miserable stretch as of late, winning just one of their last ten games and four of their last twenty. While the offense has been the biggest problem, the ability to send Syndergaard out to the bump every five days would certainly help.

If there is a silver lining to this, it is that there has been no mention of surgery to correct the issue or needing to miss an extended period of time.

Syndergaard pitched well until he was placed on the disabled list, putting up a 3.06 ERA and 1.175 WHIP with 76 strikeouts over 64.2 innings pitched. He was replaced in the starting rotation by Seth Lugo, who pitched quite well out of the bullpen since initially making the starting rotation out of spring training, though never making a start before Zack Wheeler replaced him in the rotation. In his two starts, he is 1-0 and has thrown ten scoreless innings, including six against the Yankees to help the Mets avoid being swept in the Citi-portion of the Subway Series.

This recent success has had many calling for Lugo to remain in the rotation even when Syndergaard returns and move a different starter to the bullpen, the most popular option being Jason Vargas.