Noah Syndergaard is roughly one month away from testing free agency for the first time in his career but appears optimistic about a return to the New York Mets.
"I'm fairly confident we'll reach an agreement and I'll be pitching here next year," Syndergaard said following his first appearance in nearly two years, according to Tim Britton of The Athletic.
The 29-year-old added that he based his confidence on "speculation" and "hopefulness."
Syndergaard made his triumphant return from Tommy John surgery on Tuesday night, opening the game against the Miami Marlins and pitching a clean first inning with two strikeouts. It marked his first appearance since Sept. 29, 2019, against the Atlanta Braves.
When asked if he would accept a qualifying offer from the Mets this winter, Syndergaard was non-committal but expressed gratitude at the potential of being offered one.
"It would be something I would be extremely grateful for," Syndergaard added, according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but it's definitely something I'm hoping for."
Major League Baseball's qualifying offer is a one-year deal set at the average value of the 125 most expensive salaries around the league. Last year's was worth $18.9 million. It's not yet known what this winter's will be set at.
Any player tendered a qualifying offer has seven days to accept or reject. If they reject the deal, the player becomes a free agent but is attached to draft-pick compensation. A player can be tendered a qualifying offer only once in their career.
Syndergaard managed to throw a career-high 197 2/3 innings in 2019, authoring a 4.28 ERA and 3.60 FIP. Entering Tuesday, he owned a 3.31 ERA and 2.92 FIP over 118 starts and one relief appearance in his career.
