If everything goes right for the Mets in the coming months, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard will headline their rotation at the start of the 2022 season.
But given their injury issues during the 2021 campaign, that’s far from a sure thing.
DeGrom missed the final three months of the season with an elbow issue, though he resumed throwing before the end of the season. Syndergaard made two brief MLB appearances after a long road back from Tommy John surgery, which included two setbacks in 2021.
To get a better idea of what deGrom and Syndergaard could be for the Mets next season, a report from The New York Post asked scouts what the pitchers could realistically be in 2022.
Here’s what one scout told The New York Post about deGrom:
“I don’t know if there has ever been a pitcher in the history of the game that has maintained that kind of velocity game-in and game-out the last three years like he has. This is more of a question than a statement, but is the human body and the arm built for that sort of stress? I think his body was starting to scream at him a little bit this past year, so you have to think about that. If he’s healthy and there’s no issues, there are no words to describe what type of pitcher he is, but he’s human.”
If deGrom is healthy, there’s little question that he can be the most dominant pitcher in the game. He posted a 1.08 ERA before his injury ended his season following a July 7 start.
In terms of Syndergaard, a scout told The Post the Mets shouldn’t realistically expect a pitcher who’s ready to handle a full workload.
“(Syndergaard) is a big, strong guy, a big-time competitor, but how many innings can he give you next year? A hundred innings maybe, or 120, and that is if everything goes good and there’s no more breakdowns.”
Syndergaard is also a free agent this offseason, so he and the Mets need to come to an agreement on a new contract just to keep him in New York in 2022.
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Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com.
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