Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard has been shut down from throwing for six weeks, manager Luis Rojas said on Thursday.
Syndergaard is dealing with inflammation in his right elbow, but the MRI he underwent did not reveal any structural damage.
After the six-week shutdown, Syndergaard will need to again build his arm strength up, meaning a best-case scenario for his return would likely be late August or September.
“We pray that he can pitch for us this year,” Rojas said. “I think that this is the right approach, being preventive from what he’s done rather than having anything major (happen). … We’re gonna let the performance staff and medical staff work with him throughout the time and get that inflammation down, get some strength back up in there. And that’s when the throwing is gonna start again.”
Syndergaard left his last rehab start after just one inning due to the elbow issue after his velocity dipped.
Before the setback, Syndergaard had been set to return to the Mets in the middle of June.
Now, with Syndergaard out until at least August and Carlos Carrasco likely not ready to return until late June or early July, the Mets will need to keep filling the No. 5 spot in the rotation by either being creative with openers, using Joey Lucchesi, or calling up someone like Thomas Szapucki.