Syndergaard believes he'll make 2 appearances before season's end

It's been more than four months since Noah Syndergaard made an appearance in a big-league game, but the New York Mets hurler is determined to make it happen again this season.

The 25-year-old pitched in a simulation game at Marlins Park on Monday, throwing 39 pitches with promising results.

"Felt really good," Syndergaard told Matt Ehalt of NorthJersey.com. "I felt like it was a really good step in the right direction. Most important thing is I know I'm healthy. Feeling a little rusty in terms of mechanics, trying to adjust those a little differently, try to improve them from where they were when I was healthy. It was a step in the right direction."

The strapping right-hander commonly known as Thor has been sidelined with a torn lat muscle in his right side.

Syndergaard believes he could make two appearances before the end of the regular season, although what role he would be used in if he returns is undetermined.

"The only way we know what we're looking at all winter long is to see where we are at the end of the year," manager Terry Collins explained of Syndergaard. "We have gone through the process of everything needed to do to get him on the mound again. We think it would be good to get him out there again so we have a gauge of where we stand heading into the winter."

Before his injury, Syndergaard was 1-2 with a 3.29 ERA and 32 strikeouts through 27 innings across five starts.