Mets third baseman David Wright had a harsh exchange with starting pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard for not being on the bench during the club's intrasquad game on Tuesday, per the New York Daily News.
Syndergaard was eating lunch in the clubhouse while the intrasquad game was taking place. As soon as the intrasquad game was over, Wright confronted Syndergaard and reporters heard the third baseman use the word "bench" at least twice during the exchange. Wright declined to address the incident to the media.
"If there is a young player that is here (in major-league camp) there is a reason, they have talent and potential," Wright said. "I would encourage them to use this chance to take every opportunity to learn from it. If you are a young pitcher, you can learn from sitting in with meetings with Dan (Warthen) or watching a Zack Wheeler, who I know is young, but he has experience.
"That's what I think all young players should be doing," Wright said. "That's all."
Syndergaard, who is in his first big-league camp, told Marc Carig of Newsday that he took it as a teaching moment, and that Wright was clear and "made his point."
"I really wasn't expecting it to be that big of a deal," Syndergaard said.