Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard (strained right index finger) will throw off the mound Tuesday in advance of a live batting practice session on Friday, according to Matt Ehalt of The Record.

The next and final step for Syndergaard would likely be a rehab start.

Syndergaard had been slated to return from the DL to start on June 10 against the Yankees, but was scratched from that start before receiving a second opinion on his injury.

"Nothing else has happened," Mets GM Sandy Alderson said when asked about the second opinion. "We want to make sure the next step that we take and he takes is the right one."

The 25-year-old Syndergaard threw a season-low 78 pitches in his last start on May 25, when he allowed three runs and six hits in six innings.

He has a 3.06 ERA iand 1.17 WHIP in 11 starts this season, striking out 76 batters in 64.2 innings.

Danny Abriano, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Lost a bit in the Mets' tailspin has been the absence of Syndergaard, who was initially not expected to miss a start due to his finger injury. He has now been out for over a month.

Syndergaard missed the majority of last season with a torn lat, and has now missed roughly one third of the 2018 season -- after starting off in a way that didn't display the dominance he expects from himself.

The 25-year-old Syndergaard needs to return soon in order for the Mets to have the flexbility they're seeking before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

If Syndergaard can return fully healthy and reestablish himself as the dominant force he was in 2015, 2016, and early-2017, the Mets could potentially deal him while getting an enormous haul in return -- something Sandy Alderson said they're not hell-bent on, but considering nonetheless.

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