One of baseball's most famous pitching coaches said the injury that may keep Noah Syndergaard out for 3 months was 'waiting to happen'

pulse

May 3, 2017 6:54 PM

Noah Syndergaard spent the offseason lifting and now throwing to rest his arm — a deadly combination, according to Tom House.

null

The New York Mets may be without Noah Syndergaard for three months.

According to the New York Post's Joel Sherman, the Mets are getting a second opinion on Syndergaard's torn lat muscle after one doctor estimated that it would take three months to heal.

Syndergaard's injury comes after he pitched just four outs on Sunday before having to be pulled with shoulder pain. That came after he was scratched from a Thursday start with bicep pain and then later refused an MRI on his arm.

To famous pitching coach and NFL quarterback guru Tom House, this injury was "waiting to happen." Syndergaard reportedly added 17 pounds of muscle while giving his arm a break over the offseason. House told Bob Klapisch in February that Syndergaard's offseason of lifting weights and not throwing was bad news.

"Unfortunately, this is an injury waiting to happen by the second week of June. Unless you're picking up a ball while you're getting stronger, you're just adding muscle that doesn't know how to throw. It's unskilled muscle ... There's a 60 to 63 percent likelihood [of getting injured]. I'm sure he feels great today, I'm sure he's throwing well. But what he's done is the worst-case scenario."

House, who was a pitching coach with the Texas Rangers and is credited with extending Nolan Ryan's career, according to Klapisch, believes throwing every day keeps a pitcher's arm flexible. While Syndergaard, like many modern pitchers, believed rest for the arm was in order, House believes the opposite.

"I hate being right about these kinds of things."

Syndergaard, who combines insane power — he was still hitting 100 miles per hour on the day of his injury — with several skilled pitches, like his nearly unhittable slider is not unfamiliar with these concerns. Told of House's concerns, Syndergaard told Klapsich, "

pulse