Phillies don’t believe Kyle Schwarber (calf strain) will require injured-list stint

NEW YORK — When Kyle Schwarber exited the Phillies game against the Marlins in the fifth inning on Thursday with a mild right calf strain, even he wasn’t optimistic that he’d be ready to play by Friday night. But he showed up for treatment Friday morning feeling a “little better,” according to interim manager Rob Thomson, and could be available to pinch-hit in the series opener against the Mets, depending on how his in-game treatment goes.

More importantly, Thomson doesn’t believe that Schwarber will require an injured-list stint, which is good news for a team that is still weathering the loss of Bryce Harper’s bat.

“[Schwarber] walked in fine,” Thomson said. “I was presently surprised.”

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Rookie shortstop Bryson Stott replaced Schwarber in the leadoff spot, and Matt Vierling will cover for Schwarber in left field. Schwarber has hit first in 79 games this year, but Thomson believes Stott has qualities that would suit a leadoff hitter.

“I think he can handle it,” Thomson said of Stott. “He has had great at-bats for a long time now. Instead of disrupting everybody else, I figured it would be better to slide him up and give him a shot.

“He sees a lot of pitches; he grinds out at-bats. He really knows the strike zone, and he can hit.”

Recently acquired starter Noah Syndergaard returned to Citi Field for the first time as a visiting player on Friday. Syndergaard signed as free agent with the Angels in November 2021 after parts of six seasons with the Mets.

It was somewhat surreal for Syndergaard to not only return to Citi Field but to return wearing a Phillies uniform.

“Yeah, it still hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he said. “I’m still taking it all in. It’s awesome seeing the guys and the staff on the other side. It should be a really exciting series. I’m glad to be playing for a team that hopes to have a shot of playing for a World Series. Still only a couple days in, but I feel like I mesh really well with the guys. The clubhouse is amazing, the staff is awesome, so I look forward to this journey.”

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Syndergaard said hi to a few old friends — Jacob deGrom, Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco, Tomas Nido, and a few members of the medical and performance staff — and the Mets planned to air a tribute video for him a few minutes before first pitch on Friday.

When asked why he ultimately chose to leave New York, Syndergaard was honest.

“Part of the reason why I still made the move to the Angels, to the West Coast, was because that energy that can make New York so great and positive can also kind of bite you in the butt a little bit, especially with what I’m going through right now,” he said. “A little dip in velocity, still trying to rely on location, and mixing things up. I feel like if I was doing that playing here, everything would just be highlighted. That was a kind of a big fear of mine. That’s another reason why I went over to the West Coast, I could kind of get my bearings underneath me and get back to my old self.”

After suffering an elbow ligament tear in June 2020, Syndergaard underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and missed most of that big league season while he was rehabbing. He returned in 2022 as a different pitcher — less of a power pitcher — but the Phillies are trying to transition him into a sinkerballer. The goal right now is for Syndergaard to throw his slider harder and more often.

Beginning his transition in Anaheim was helpful because there is a less of a media presence there, but Syndergaard says he feels ready to embrace a big market again.

“I was living the good life in Newport Beach,” he said. “There was really not a whole lot of stress at all. But I think you can have good stress and bad stress. I think this is going to get me out of my comfort zone again. I feel like just the pressure and excitement of playing in a big market, I really thrive in and embraced when I was playing here. I think that’s really going to help me take my game to the next level.”

Harper (left thumb fracture) is not with the Phillies in New York this weekend. Thomson said Harper will continue to hit in Philadelphia, and, at some point, they’ll start to work with him in the field. Right now, Harper is doing short, batting practice-type sessions in the cage. Thomson said Harper likely will go on a minor league rehab assignment, but he is unsure when that assignment will start and how long it will last.