Noah Syndergaard headed off any questions at the pass.
Asked to make an opening comment before answering any queries yesterday on the conference call in which he and catchers Travis d’Arnaud and John Buck were all introduced as the newest members of the Mets, the 20-year-old pitcher immediately apologized for an anti-gay remark he made on Twitter last week, calling it “a poor attempt at humor.”
Using the Twitter account @Noahsyndergaard, Syndergaard sent the following message on Dec. 9 to the Twitter account of fellow minor leaguer Dayton Marze: “@DMarze89 nice crocs f– lol.”
Syndergaard, acquired on Monday along with d’Arnaud, Buck and minor league outfielder Wuilmer Becerra in the trade that sent NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey and catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas to the Blue Jays, said he was just kidding with a friend.
“I had a mishap on Twitter that was brought to my attention this morning,” Syndergaard said. “I apologize for anything that was said. My buddy and I were having some fun and it was a poor attempt at humor.
“I’m sorry for what I said. I hope I didn’t offend anyone. I’m also sorry my first introduction as a New York Met had to be like this.’’
The right-handed pitcher was the No. 3 rated prospect in the Blue Jays’ farm system last season, when he was 8-5 with a 2.60 ERA for Class A Lansing. He had 122 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings.
Last season a member of the Blue Jays major league club, shortstop Yunel Escobar, wrote an anti-gay slur on his eye black for a game against the Red Sox, and has since been traded — twice.