PORT St. LUCIE — Noah Syndergaard has yet to throw a pitch in the majors, but he already has a good understanding of how the Mets operate.
Asked if he hoped to make it tough for the organization to send him down, the right-hander had a straight-forward answer.
“I know it’s inevitable,” said Syndergaard, who is scheduled to pitch about four innings in relief of Daisuke Matsuzaka on Thursday when the Mets visit the Nationals in Viera. “With the finances and everything, I understand it’s a game, but it’s also a business.”
Syndergaard, like Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler before him, almost certainly will have to wait until the Super 2 deadline passes, which will save the Mets a year of service time.
“And there are still some things I need to work on,” said Syndergaard, who is trying to improve his changeup to give him a third pitch. “I want to stay here as long as possible and get everything I can from these guys before I get sent down [to minor league camp].”
Ike Davis and Lucas Duda seem to slowly be regaining their health.
Davis said it was “interesting” to be back on the field and both could be in minor league games by the weekend.
“I haven’t moved on the ankle in a while, so this is different,” said Davis, who still uses the walking boot occasionally to protect his right calf. “There’s not a lot of pain, though. Once again, it’s just a little tight, I guess, but not painfully tight.”
Both first basemen threw, fielded grounders and took swings Wednesday, with Duda saying his hamstring was 80-90 percent healed.
Davis said he knows he can’t afford more time off.
“I have to stay healthy,” Davis said.
General manager Sandy Alderson acknowledged their inability to stay on the field has impacted the team’s decision-making.
“It changes things pretty radically, the fact they haven’t been out there recently,” Alderson said. “We have almost three weeks left [until Opening Day]. Hopefully, they’ll get back out there, but given the fact that it’s a truncated version of spring training for both of them, you have to be more cautious about making judgments. So we will be.”
Bobby Parnell called the difference between Wednesday’s outing “night and day” from his first appearance of the spring on Sunday.
“My timing was a lot better,” said Parnell, who underwent neck surgery last year. “I felt like the ball was coming out [of his hand] a lot better, so as the inning went on, my confidence kept growing.”
Though his fastball topped out at 89 mph, he is confident it will return to its typical levels soon enough. He expects to be back in the high-90s at some point in the first half of the season, adding he normally doesn’t reach his peak velocity until sometime in May.
“It takes a little bit of time,” Parnell said.
Carlos Torres has pitched six scoreless innings, and manager Terry Collins already has him penciled into the bullpen.
“He definitely can become that swing guy,” Collins said. “If someone can’t start a game, he’s the perfect guy. With the job he did last year, he’s on this club.”
Torres’ role, however, may not be known until closer to Opening Day: “It all depends on the makeup of the rest of the bullpen,” Collins said. “I don’t know where all the pieces are going to go.”
Chris Young continued his solid spring with another hit, and Collins plans on playing him extensively. “I talked to Chris when he came in and he said the best year he ever had he had 90 [spring at-bats],’’ Collins said. “He’s swinging good and I want to keep him going”
Daniel Murphy returned from a shin injury and will play again Thursday.
Collins will continue to use the DH for another week or so with so many position players in need of at-bats because of time missed due to injuries.