Syndergaard to DL with partial lat tear

Noah Syndergaard will be placed on the 10-day disabled list after his MRI results showed a partial right lat tear, the Mets released in a statement this afternoon.

The Mets will turn to Rafael Montero to take Syndergaard’s rotation spot, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. The 24-year old began this season coming in hot with a 3.29 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 27.1 innings pitched. He’d also struck out 32 batters while only walking two.

For references the latissimus dorsi—or lat—is the giant muscle that extends from your lower back, up to connect the humerus bone in your arm to your shoulder. The nature of the muscle is to enable the arm to pivot in all directions, but mostly to help the arm move inwards towards the body. Meaning this is one of the last injuries you want to have if you’re a pitcher.

Lat tears are tricky and no one recovery time can encompass the injury. In 2015, when Steven Matz sustained a torn lat on his left side, the then-top prospect spent a near-two month spell on the disabled list. So there’s a possibility that Syndergaard’s break from the team won’t be season ending as fans are fearing.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues with a lat tear is that it can so easily do damage to the surrounding muscle and tissue around it. If Thor is too quick to return to the mound or has already pushed himself too much, not only with the thinness of the lat be injured further, but he could potentially damage his shoulder as well.

While Syndergaard has been added to the 10-day DL for the moment, there’s no timetable slated for his return. The lat is a big muscle and it takes a while for it to heal. He now joins fellow injuries pitchers Matz and Seth Lugo on the Mets seemingly cursed disabled list.