One former All-Star pitcher hurled a single inning for the Mets on Tuesday night, and the achievement was of monumental importance for Noah Syndergaard.

The team decided on the same day that the consensus best pitcher in baseball would not toss even one more inning this season, and that was the right decision concerning Jacob deGrom.

Syndergaard had far more to prove – to himself and to the organization – in making it back to a big-league mound for the first time in nearly two years following Tommy John surgery in 2020.

Even without throwing any breaking pitches, as he’s been medically advised, it was critical for Syndergaard’s psyche to not miss two entire seasons, especially entering free agency this winter.