Noah Syndergaard exits rehab start early for Low-A St. Lucie with right elbow soreness

Noah Syndergaard suffered a setback in his continued rehab from Tommy John surgery.

The right-hander pitched just one scoreless inning with one strikeout in his second rehab start for the Low-A St. Lucie Mets on Tuesday. The Mets announced he left his outing after one inning “for precautionary reasons due to right elbow soreness.” The reaggravation to his pitching elbow is a bad sign that is likely to delay his comeback.

He was scheduled to pitch at least four innings on Tuesday, with roughly four more rehab starts including an eventual advancement to Triple-A Syracuse in the coming weeks.

Mets manager Luis Rojas this past weekend said he expected Syndergaard to join the rotation in mid-June. Following his one-inning outing on Tuesday and a potential shutdown from throwing or ramping up, his June timeline is likely no longer accurate.

Syndergaard underwent Tommy John surgery 14 months ago in March 2020. He had so far cruised through his rehab with no setbacks until his early exit on Tuesday. Syndergaard successfully completed his first rehab assignment last week on May 19, throwing four scoreless innings and recording five strikeouts across 46 pitches.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.