Noah Syndergaard’s long-awaited return is delayed indefinitely after he tested positive for COVID-19, sources said Sunday.
He was vaccinated against the disease, according to manager Luis Rojas, and has not experienced any symptoms, according to a person familiar with his condition.
“Feels great,” the source added.
Syndergaard, who turned 29 on Sunday, chimed in with a joke via Twitter: “This birthday is so sick.”
Usually, players who test positive are out for at least 10 days. There have been cases — including the Yankees’ Gleyber Torres, for example — in which vaccinated players are cleared to return sooner than that if MLB’s medical experts don’t deem them to be infectious.
No Mets were unavailable due to being close contacts, a team official said. The protocol there: Vaccinated players who are close contacts do not have to quarantine, but unvaccinated players who are close contacts have to quarantine for seven days.
The Mets are among seven major-league teams that have not reached the 85% vaccination threshold sought by MLB. This is their first public case of COVID since the season started.
Syndergaard had been scheduled to make his second rehabilitation appearance with High-A Brooklyn on Sunday, but that plan was scratched when the Mets learned of his positive test on Saturday.
Initially, Rojas repeatedly called Syndergaard’s issue a “non-baseball related injury,” declining to get into specifics. He did say Syndergaard was “frustrated” by the latest delay.
“It’s a non-baseball related injury,” Rojas said. “That’s how we called it in the past when it’s not related to baseball. It’s not related to something he’s had this season. We’re going to leave it at that.”
Sources later clarified that it was not an actual physical injury but instead a positive COVID test for Syndergaard.
Rojas said the Mets don’t know when his next minor-league outing will be. The team had expected him back, likely as a reliever, in early September.
Syndergaard has not pitched since September 2019. He had Tommy John surgery in March 2020.
