Mets reliever Bobby Parnell said he wasn't trying to embarrass starting pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard when he threw out his lunch plate in the clubhouse Tuesday in an effort to inform the highly touted prospect he needed to be in the dugout for an intrasquad game. Third baseman David Wright also talked to Syndergaard about being in the clubhouse.
"We try to keep those things behind closed doors, but the media was there and saw it," Parnell said in a statement released by the team, per NJ.com. "But it wasn't about embarrassing anyone. Again, it goes back to creating that culture on and off the field."
Parnell said he talked with Syndergaard since the incident became public.
"It's a clubhouse issue that needed to be handled," Parnell said. "We are trying to create a winning culture around here and that what's the whole situation was about."
Mets manager Terry Collins said he has no issue with how Parnell handled the matter.
"I think it's the perfect way he dealt with it," Collins told NJ.com. "Perfect. I think Bobby did what I would do and a number of other guys would've have done. The captain made a statement and it wasn't really adhered to and Bobby said, 'Maybe he didn't hear it'."