PHILADELPHIA — For the Mets, it’s always about tomorrow.
Considering that philosophy, let’s make today about tomorrow.
The Mets need a starter Tuesday night against the Nationals at Citi Field because of Jacob deGrom’s sore shoulder. Noah Syndergaard is starting Tuesday night.
A perfect match.
Except, Syndergaard again will be starting for Triple-A Las Vegas, this time in Des Moines, Iowa against the Triple-A Cubs.
Instead of Syndergaard, the Mets opted to go with Rafael Montero, Round II.
This would have been the perfect game to have Syndergaard make his major league debut. What’s wrong with offering the fans a little hope and a little Futures Game look at Syndergaard?
Mets fans have been through so much, let them dream a little.
It would have made a dreary Tuesday night in mid-August at Citi Field much more exciting. Fans watching at home would find a reason to turn on SNY to see the big right-hander. Syndergaard would get a taste of the big time against a quality team.
That is a win-win situation, no matter the result.
This would be a learning experience for all.
Yes, the Mets would have had to find room on the 40-man, but they are going to have to do that down the road anyway.
There was something else to be learned from Monday’s events. The Mets announced Jeremy Hefner, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, has suffered a re-injury to his UCL and a stress fracture in his pitching arm, just terrible news for Hefner.
That is a not so gentle reminder to Matt Harvey to take it slow in his return from Tommy John surgery and basically guarantees Harvey will not pitch for the Mets this season.
Superman is getting his cape tugged on once again.
“We’re going to speak to Matt and Bobby Parnell about this,’’ one club official told The Post Monday after the Mets 5-3 win over the clueless Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. “Learn from this, there is no need to rush back from that injury.’’
Syndergaard, who turns 22 at the end of the month, is coming off a start where he allowed two earned runs over five innings, but his three previous Triple-A starts were outstanding, as he allowed only one earned run over 17 ¹/₃ innings.
Montero has better overall numbers, granted. He is 6-3 with a 3.28 ERA. Syndergaard is 8-6 with a 4.79. DeGrom will miss at least two starts.
John Ricco, the Mets assistant general manager, said the club talked about getting Syndergaard a major league jump-start this season, but Montero was the better fit right now.
“I think, in other circumstances, if we didn’t have Montero right there and lined up, we would have given it a little bit more consideration,’’ Ricco said. “There’s still a chance that this is a two-start thing.’’
In other words, when Syndergaard comes up general manager Sandy Alderson wants him to stay.
“Sandy, as we’ve seen with Harvey and [Zack] Wheeler, has really wanted to have, when this type of guy comes up you come up and you are here [to stay],’’ Ricco said. “There’s still a chance we see Syndergaard. He’s pitching well. This is nothing against him. If Jake was done for the year, it would have been a different conversation.’’
Remember, though, when Harvey was bored at Triple-A and then was lights out in the majors when the spotlight came his way.
When I spoke to Syndergaard at the Futures Game in Minneapolis last month he was aching to get to the majors. He flat out said he was hoping to be in the majors at that point and here we are four weeks later and he is still toiling in Triple-A.
By bringing up Syndergaard for two starts now, the Mets would get a jump on 2015, and a jump on winning.
Syndergaard would have a much better feel for what it takes to be a major league starter and the challenge in front of him.
And all those tortured Mets’ fans would have gotten a great glimpse of tomorrow.