Mets pitching coach: Noah Syndergaard could be used in relief to return sooner

The New York Mets may be getting creative in an attempt to get right-hander Noah Syndergaard back on the mound as soon as possible.

Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said over the weekend that Syndergaard, who has been sidelined since the end of April with a torn right lat muscle, is set to resume throwing in two weeks. He also hinted that the team could opt to bring Syndergaard out of the bullpen so that he can return sooner, a decision dependent on the Mets’ needs and their prospects for contention.

“If we decide we want to go get Syndergaard back earlier but use him as a one-inning guy, we’ll all talk about that,” said Warthen, per Newsday’s Marc Carig.

The 24-year-old Syndergaard has started in 59 of his 60 career games with the Mets. His lone relief appearance came in May 2016 when he pitched a scoreless seventh inning in a regular season loss to the Chicago White Sox.

The Mets are somewhat known for, shall we say, unconventional pitching decisions, and a fireballer like Syndergaard may benefit from taking things one inning at a time until he feels right again.

H/T HardballTalk