Anthony McCarron, SNY.tv | Twitter |
Several scouts from opposing teams watched Noah Syndergaard pitch Wednesday night at Citi Field, as the Mets hurler continues to draw buzz during Major League Baseball's trading season.
Syndergaard, for his part, says he's not dwelling on any potential trade scenarios, nor has he sought an audience with GM Brodie Van Wagenen or other Mets bigwigs to get a clear picture of their intentions heading toward the July 31 deadline.
"I haven't really had much of a discussion with the front office as far as the future of me being a Met," Syndergaard said Wednesday after the Mets' 7-2 loss to San Diego. "But as of right now, I'm more than happy where I'm at right now and I look forward to continuing to put on this jersey."
Is he worried about being traded? Or at least wondering if he'll go?
"It's completely out of my control," Syndergaard said, "So I'm not going to waste much energy kind of thinking about those things."
At least one of the scouts doubts that Syndergaard will be moved: "I would be surprised, unless someone knocked their socks off," the scout said.
While Syndergaard gave the evaluators watching some flashes of his ace-level stuff Wednesday, his final line wasn't anything spectacular. Syndergaard (7-5) gave up four runs (three earned) and eight hits in seven innings. He walked five, one intentionally, and struck out eight.
"His velocity on all of his pitches was there," said a scout from another organization who evaluated Syndergaard's start. "Combination of too many pitches that stayed on plane. Mistakes in the middle of the plate. The team's defensive lapses and not a lot of good fortune didn't help.
Mets manager Mickey Callaway praised Syndergaard's start, especially the length.
"Anytime you go seven, you've done something," Callaway said.
It was the third consecutive start in which Syndergaard has delivered seven innings, tying the longest streak of his career. But he had trouble putting batters away and that stung.
"My No. 1 problem all year has been execution," Syndergaard said.
Asked to evaluate his season so far, he said, "High and lows. More lows than highs, but I feel like I'm on the right track right now."