Syndergaard: Avoiding WBC was 'piece-of-cake decision'

After pitching more than 190 combined innings between the regular season and postseason in 2016, New York Mets ace Noah Syndergaard wasn't interested in representing the U.S. in the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

"It was a piece-of-cake decision," Syndergaard told Mike Puma of the New York Post on Wednesday. "My heart and desire is with the New York Mets and competing with them and striving for a world championship ring. I wasn't interested."

Syndergaard opted to decline the invite from the U.S. because he didn't want to risk any sort of injury that could affect his performance for the Mets. The 24-year-old pitched through a bone spur in his right elbow last season, which didn't require surgery.

"I am not going to risk injury competing in that," Syndergaard explained of possibly competing in the WBC. "Especially since I threw over 200 innings in 2015 and 2016, so I needed to give my arm a good substantial break."

Syndergaard's decision to avoid the event, which will feature nine players from the Mets competing for their respective countries, was a smart one, according to manager Terry Collins.

"I think he is doing the right thing," Collins said. "He is coming off a pretty intense year. I know his goal is to get ready for the season, and I think down the road there will be another WBC that he will be able to pitch in if he wants.

"We have been talking about it since the end of last season, about health, and he was not going to sacrifice anything to getting in the way to get ready for the year."

Syndergaard was one of the top pitchers in all of baseball last season, posting a 14-9 record with a 2.60 ERA and 10.7 strikeout-per-nine-inning rate, earning the first All-Star appearance of his career.