Port St. Lucie, Fl.: New York Mets’ pitcher Noah Syndergaard pitches during a spring training workout at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida on February 19, 2020. (Photo by Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday via Getty Images)

The New York Mets have avoided salary arbitration with Noah Syndergaard, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $9.7 million, sources confirm to ESPN.

The deal was first reported Tuesday by USA Today Sports.

Syndergaard, 28 missed the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow last March. The former All-Star pitcher is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season.

Mets president Sandy Anderson, in an interview earlier this month with New York radio station WFAN, said a June return for Syndergaard is a “reasonable expectation.”

Syndergaard threw a career-high 197⅔ innings in 2019 but posted a career-worst 4.28 ERA. The hard-throwing right-hander has a career 3.31 ERA in parts of five seasons — all with the Mets.

— ESPN