Noah Syndergaard: Mets made it a ‘no-brainer’ to sign with Angels

While the Mets were still trying to find a general manager, Noah Syndergaard was meeting with the Angels, listening to their detailed plan for him after missing most of the last two years following Tommy John surgery.

There wasn’t any uncertainty there. Just conviction in what they believe the big right-hander can do for them. In the end, that sold the 29-year-old Syndergaard, who called it a “no-brainer” to sign with the Angels on a one-year, $21 million deal rather than accept the $18.4 million qualifying offer from the Mets.

“[It was] definitely in the back of my mind a little bit. This is an important year for me,” Syndergaard said over Zoom on Friday afternoon. “This is kind of a make-or-break time for me. I didn’t want to gamble on that kind of uncertainty that’s been going on with them.”

Ironically, as Syndergaard was addressing reporters, the Mets were introducing new general manager Billy Eppler, who previously held that position with the Angels.

Syndergaard said he didn’t hear much from the Mets since the end of the season, as The Post’s Joel Sherman reported earlier this week. He didn’t take that as a sign they didn’t want him back, just that they had a lot going on in terms of replacing manager Luis Rojas and finding a new general manager.

“I understand they had a lot on their plates,” Syndergaard said. “I wanted a fresh start to get back to my old self. It was a no-brainer once I had that sit-down meeting with [Angels general manager] Perry [Minasian]. … I could just sense his passion, his desire to win right now, and that got me really fired up.”

Syndergaard was expected to be a major long-term piece for the Mets when he made his debut on May 12, 2015. Acquired from the Blue Jays along with Travis d’Arnaud for R.A. Dickey in December 2012, he helped the Mets reach the World Series as a rookie and led them to the NL wild-card game in 2016 with his best season as a big-leaguer.

But he struggled in 2019, pitching to a career-worst 4.28 ERA, and was hardly on the mound the last two seasons following elbow surgery. There was still the belief he would return to the Mets and could recapture his early form. In September, Syndergaard expressed optimism he would be back, telling reporters he was “fairly confident” his home would remain in Queens.

“It would be a tough pill to swallow not wearing a Mets jersey next year,” he said at the time.

The Angels’ money, and their plans for him, evidently changed that.

“It was the hardest decision of my life,” Syndergaard said, “but I felt like I made the right decision.”