NEW YORK (AP) - Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen has denied a rift exists between pitcher Noah Syndergaard and the team over Wilson Ramos catching his starts.
A report in the New York Post on Monday said Syndergaard or his agents implored the Mets numerous times to let the right-hander pitch to another catcher.
“I think Noah has expressed his feelings with his (lack of) comfortability of throwing to Wilson,” Van Wagenen said before Monday’s game against Arizona. “I respect him for sharing those feelings.”
“We listened to him, he understands our thought process that he may have other catchers catch him. No different than he has earlier in the course of the season and we’ll continue to make those evaluations on a day by day basis that gives us a chance to win,” he said.
On Aug. 28, Syndergaard allowed a career-high 10 runs in a 10-7 loss to the Cubs in a game started by Ramos. Last week, he struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings in Washington with René Rivera behind the plate.
Syndergaard has a 5.09 ERA in 15 games pitching to Ramos and a 2.45 ERA in 10 games pitching to Tomas Nido. He also had an 8.10 ERA in two games pitching to Travis d’Arnaud, whom he was acquired with from Toronto following the 2012 season for R.A. Dickey.
“I appreciate Noah communicating his thoughts,” Van Wagenen said. “In this organization, we don’t suppress feelings and harbor ill will.”
On June 9 against Colorado, Syndergaard allowed one hit in seven innings while throwing to Nido. He allowed five runs and five stolen bases in his next start against St. Louis when he also strained his right hamstring.
“You can’t make everybody happy and it’s not about making guys happy,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “It’s about winning at this point.”
Syndergaard is 10-7 with a career-high 4.06 ERA in 28 starts this season. His name was mentioned in trade speculation as the July 31 deadline approached.
Syndergaard can be a free agent following the 2021 season.
Ramos signed a two-year, $19 million contract as one of Van Wagenen’s free agent acquisitions in his first offseason since moving from being an agent to New York’s front office.
Ramos entered Monday batting .298 with 14 homers and 71 RBIs. He batted .430 during a career-high 26-game hitting streak that ended Wednesday.
The Mets began Monday 25-14 in the second half with Ramos as the starting catcher. They are 9-6 when Ramos has caught Syndergaard.
“Wilson is a good player, Noah is a very good player,” Van Wagenen said. “Everybody out there is doing their best to try to win a game, so my comfort level with all those guys is that every time somebody takes the field, they’re going to give their all.”
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