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:

MLB homer leader Pete Alonso to IL with bone bruise, sprain in wrist

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PITTSBURGH — The New York Mets will have to dig out of an early-season hole without star first baseman Pete Alonso.

The leading home run hitter in the majors will miss three-to-four weeks with a bone bruise and a sprain in his left wrist.

The Mets placed Alonso on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to June 8. Alonso was hit in the wrist by a 96 mph fastball from Charlie Morton in the first inning of a 7-5 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.

Alonso traveled to New York for testing on Thursday. X-rays revealed no broken bones, but the Mets will be missing one of the premier power hitters in the game as they try to work their way back into contention in the NL East.

“We got better news than it could have been,” New York manager Buck Showalter said. “So we take that as a positive. It could have been worse.”

New York had lost six straight heading into a three-game series at Pittsburgh that began Friday. Mark Canha started at first for the Mets in the opener. Mark Vientos could also be an option, though Showalter said the coaching staff may have to use its “imagination” in thinking of ways to get by without Alonso.

“I’m not going to say someone has to step up and all that stuff,” Showalter said. “You’ve just got to be who you are.”

Even with Alonso in the lineup, the Mets have struggled to score consistently. New York is 16th in the majors in runs scored.

The team also said Friday that reliever Edwin Uceta had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Uceta initially went on the IL in April with what the team called a sprained left ankle. He is expected to be out for at least an additional eight weeks.

New York recalled infielder Luis Guillorme and left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn from Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets sent catcher Tomás Nido to Triple-A and designated reliever Stephen Nogosek for assignment.

Nogosek is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 13 games this season.