Mets’ Noah Syndergaard still has no timetable for return

Mets starter Noah Syndergaard still does not have a timetable to return to the club after having a second opinion on his injured right index finger, manager Mickey Callaway told reporters.

The second opinion confirmed that the 25-year-old Syndergaard has a strained ligament in his finger, which forced him to be put on the 10-day disabled list at the end of May. According to DiComo, Syndergaard rested for a few days, then ”experienced some swelling after a round of catch last week" that resulted in him being scratched from his start on Sunday.

Callaway said that Syndergaard’s finger is “tender to the touch.” Because of this soreness, Syndergaard will still remain on the sidelines.

“Really the second opinion reconfirmed what we already knew,” Callaway said to DiComo. “He is going to go into rest until he is symptom-free and then start throwing.”

Syndergaard is 4-1 with a 3.06 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 64 ²⁄₃ innings pitched across 11 starts. The Mets would love to have him back in the rotation, even though the starters have been performing extremely well in his absence.

Since May 20, the Mets starters have posted a major-league best 2.67 ERA. Jacob deGrom and Seth Lugo have led the way, posting 1.57 and 1.77 ERAs, respectively, entering Wednesday. But the Mets’ offense hasn’t been able to be there for the rotation, and New York has gone 1-9 in its previous 10 games. In four of the team’s last seven games, the pitching staff has given up two or fewer runs.