Noah Syndergaard won’t throw for six weeks

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The verdict is in: Mets’ right-hander Noah Syndergaard won’t throw for at least six weeks, according to comments made by general manager Sandy Alderson during a pregame press conference on Saturday. At first blush, that sounds a lot better than the three-month estimate given by the New York Post’s Joel Sherman earlier this week, but keep in mind that Syndergaard will only begin throwing baseballs again when the six-week period expires. There’s no word yet on exactly how long it’ll take the Mets’ ace to return to the mound, though he received “positive news” during his evaluation by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Thursday and isn’t likely to undergo any surgical procedures to mend his lat tear.

At this point, the team expects the process to go very slowly, and Alderson mentioned that Syndergaard could be placed on the 60-day disabled list while he works up to a full recovery. It seems unlikely that the righty would find himself back in the Mets’ rotation before the All-Star break, especially given the additional time needed to take on a full workload after he resumes throwing off the mound.

Neither Alderson nor Syndergaard appeared particularly perturbed by the decision to start the right-hander last Sunday, despite the fact that the 24-year-old had recently refused an MRI for biceps tendinitis and suffered the lat injury within the first 1 1/3 innings of his outing. “To me, the MRI was not a critical element to the decision-making,” Alderson said. “I don’t regret it at all,” Syndergaard added. “Something weird just happened.”

Syndergaard’s full comments from the press conference are below, via MLB.com’s Joe Trezza:

Astros star Altuve has surgery on broken thumb, a WBC injury

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Houston Astros star Jose Altuve had surgery Wednesday on his broken right thumb, an injury that occurred in the World Baseball Classic and will significantly delay the second baseman’s 2023 debut.

The Astros announced that the 32-year-old Altuve had the procedure done in Houston and will stay there to begin his rehabilitation, with only one week left in spring training. The Astros will fly there on Sunday following their final Grapefruit League game in Florida, before playing a pair of exhibitions against their Triple-A team, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, in Texas.

Altuve was hit by a pitch on Saturday while playing for Venezuela in the WBC. He might not be ready to return to the lineup until at least late May. The eight-time All-Star and 2017 American League MVP batted .300 with 103 runs, 28 homers and 18 steals for the World Series champion Astros last season. Mauricio Dubón and David Hensley are the leading candidates to fill in for Altuve at second base.

Altuve isn’t the only Major League Baseball star who was hurt in WBC play, of course. Mets closer Edwin Díaz will miss the 2023 season because of a torn patellar tendon in his right knee as the freak result of an on-field celebration following a WBC win by the Puerto Rico national team.

BROWN DOWN

The Astros also scratched right-hander Hunter Brown from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Manager Dusty Baker told reporters that Brown, who is ranked by MLB as the organization’s top prospect and competing for the last spot in the rotation, has discomfort in his lower back.

NOT QUITE READY

The New York Mets sent catcher Francisco Álvarez to Triple-A Syracuse, quashing for now the possibility of putting the prized 21-year-old on the opening day roster.

Álvarez, who made his major league debut with the Mets near the end of last season, had just three hits in 28 at-bats in Grapefruit League exhibition games. Ranked by MLB as the third-best prospect in baseball, Álvarez batted .260 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in a combined 112 minor league games in 2022 at Double-A and Triple-A.

The Mets have newcomer Omar Narváez, a 2021 All-Star with the Milwaukee Brewers, as their primary catcher with Tomás Nido likely to play mostly against left-handed pitchers.

Speaking of the Mets, Díaz turned 29 on Wednesday – a rather subdued milestone for the right-hander considering his situation. Diaz nonetheless posted in Spanish an upbeat message on his Twitter account, thanking God for another year of life and describing his health as good and his outlook as positive in this initial stage of the roughly eight-month rehabilitation process.