NEW YORK — In the latest bizarre medical development for the baffling New York Mets, ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard is headed back to the 10-day disabled list after contracting hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
The team believes it’s likely Syndergaard caught the contagious virus when he made an appearance at a baseball camp for kids during the All-Star break last week. Mets Manager Mickey Callaway said that probably explains why Syndergaard weakened and his velocity decreased during Friday night’s victory at Yankee Stadium.
“Hand-foot-and-mouth, are you serious? I guess it’s very uncommon in adults, period,” Callaway said Sunday. “It’s kind of odd. Maybe the first DL stint in Major League Baseball with hand-foot-and-mouth? I don’t know. A record or something.”
According to WebMD.com, hand-foot-and-mouth disease is an infectious disease that “most often occurs in children under 10 and is characterized by a rash of small blister-like sores on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and in the mouth. Symptoms include fever, sore throat, and headache.”
The disease can spread from one person to another through saliva or fluid from blisters, among other things, and the infection normally passes in a week. The only treatment is a pain reliever such as acetaminophen, according to the website.
Syndergaard just returned from the DL on July 13 after sitting out more than six weeks with a strained ligament in his right index finger. Callaway and assistant general manager John Ricco say it’s possible the right-hander will miss only one turn in the rotation this time while allowing the virus to run its course.
NATIONALS: All-Star closer Sean Doolittle experienced soreness in his left foot when throwing off a mound and does not have a timetable for his return.
Doolittle has not pitched in a game since July 6 because of toe inflammation. He threw off a mound Friday and had an MRI the following day that revealed a stress reaction, comparable to a bone bruise, in the bridge of his foot.
He was wearing a walking boot on Sunday. The 31-year-old right-hander says he thinks his recovery time will be measured in weeks, not months.
CUBS: Yu Darvish may throw off a mound soon, but the Cubs aren’t banking completely on his reliability as team president Theo Epstein and his staff scour the trade market.
“You can’t be overly reliant on somebody who hasn’t been able to be healthy and perform this year,” Epstein said Sunday morning. “At the same time, you track the rehab closely because you’ve got to anticipate what he might be able to give you. (Sunday) was his best day in a long time. He threw very well and felt pretty good.”
Epstein said Darvish threw from about 135 feet, and might throw off a mound for the first time since June 28, when recurring discomfort in his right triceps prevented him from rejoining the team. Sunday marked the first time since July 9 that Darvish played catch. Darvish hasn’t pitched in a game since May 20.
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