Free agent right-hander Noah Syndergaard is reportedly drawing interest from multiple clubs. In an appearance on Foul Territory, Robert Murray of FanSided relayed that teams are looking at the righty as a bounceback candidate and hoping for a buy-low opportunity.
It’s understandable why clubs would consider such a move but the reason that Syndergaard is available in a buy-low situation is that his 2023 was so dismal. He signed a one-year, $13MM deal with the Dodgers but posted an earned run average of 7.16 in his 12 starts for that club. He was flipped to the Guardians at the deadline in a swap of struggling players, with Amed Rosario going to the Dodgers. Syndergaard took the ball six times for the Guards with slightly better results, as his ERA was 5.40 in those. But he was nonetheless designated for assignment and released at the end of August. He didn’t sign anywhere else for the final month of the season.
Despite that rough campaign, Syndergaard might be a beneficiary of the robust market for starting pitchers, as various reports suggest that the demand for rotation help is incredibly high. Aaron Nola got a hefty $172MM guarantee over seven years to return to the Phillies. But even Lance Lynn, who was coming off a very poor season, received a guarantee of $11MM on a one-year deal with the Cardinals.
That perhaps gives some hope to Syndergaard, but on the other hand, his strong results are now pretty far in the past. Lynn had a 5.73 ERA in 2023 while allowing 44 home runs but he still struck out 23.6% of batters. He also had a much more palatable ERA of 3.99 in 2022 with a 24.2% strikeout rate. Despite his struggles this year, there are at least some encouraging things under the hood.
It’s hard to say the same for Syndergaard, who struck out just 14.3% of batters faced in 2023. Like Lynn, his ERA was much better in 2022, coming in at 3.94. But he did that despite striking out just 16.8% of opponents in that season. He missed all of 2020 and most of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery so a bit of rust was to be expected but he’s yet to show signs of returning anywhere near his pre-surgery form.
From 2015 to 2019, he posted a 3.31 ERA over 716 innings. In the process, he struck out 26.4% of batters faced, walked just 5.7% and kept 49.1% of balls in play on the ground. Prior to the surgery, his four-seam fastball and sinker each average between 97 and 99 mph but the past two years have seen him average in the 92-94 mph range. His slider averaged 92-93 mph before he went under the knife but he’s been around 85 mph since. Those diminished weapons have naturally reduced his ability to punch out big league hitters and he’s now had four straight years of either being injured or posting middling results.
Now 31, it’s fair to wonder if there’s a path to turn things around. The Dodgers and Guardians are two organizations with strong reputations for getting the most out of pitchers but each gave up on Syndergaard last year. Though if the market for starters is as strong as the reporting indicates, the contracts for the top guys will be wild and there figures to be strong competition for even mid-rotation arms and back-end guys. More than half the league has reportedly checked in on Seth Lugo while, as mentioned, Lynn got an eight-figure guarantee coming off a nightmare season. Perhaps that will lead some club to taking a flier on Syndergaard and hoping for the best.
“Multiple clubs desperate”
Or 1 agent that is desperate to get his client a contract spreading a bunch of hooey to see if one of those desperate teams can be hoo doed into a mistake.
Or an agent leaking this story bc there’s an offer out there that he wants to leverage his own leaked story against lol. Regardless MLBTR bought it hook line a sinker
Minor league deal with an invite to spring training and I can see multiple clubs interested. Guaranteed MLB deal? Breslow is too smart to make it his signature deal at the upcoming winter meeting.
This may be a Black Friday deal on Thor. My app is not loading……
Nuke – Remember when Thor, Harvey and deGrom were gonna lead the Mets to multiple world championships.
The predictions here are quite entertaining.
Long – I agree, and the Dodger contract is more evidence Friedman is not the genius he claims to be. He based that contract on peripherals, typical mistake made by those obsessed with analytics.
It could be social clubs. Syndergaard’s a pretty friendly guy.
Sometimes Thor is not more.
Discard not Asgaard.
Frightening not lightning.
Definitely not “Hammer-time”, don’t touch this.
Don’t be such a Thor head.
I’m being low-key. Don’t be a Thor loser.
Pirates 1 yr 3mil as middle relief,occasional start
Yeah. I’m predicting this is the kind of starter the Pirates are going to go after. This guy, Keuchel, Carasco, Clevinger etc.
They may be on the cusp of contending for a wild card—have a nice young core—but they’re torn about actually spending money when three guys come back from major surgeries mid-summer and they’re young studs spend another year at AAA
Here, it’s another year of kicking the can down the road
*their young studs..
Sheesh
Mister – you might check Clevinger’s 23 stats before you lump him in that group.
Best check Clevingers’s baggage before you lump him with others flying without baggage.
cleaver -after watching him for SD other than an injury and his rocking back and forth before he throws a pitch, I’m really not aware of any “baggage” with Clev. Seemed to be liked in SD. Maybe I’ve missed something or maybe you are being very sensitive. Either way, I think my response was on point because Mister was clearly looking at washed up guys. If he was concerned with “baggage” there are a lot of other guys that he could have named – including 2 guys that threw their last mlb pitches as Dodgers but, I don’t think he was going for “baggage”.
See how rumors.start so fast with internet & cell phones!! Who really wants this guy now! Maybe Japan.
get it done, mets
Went from Thor to Thorn. Maybe there’s more in the tank, but maybe we’ll just wait and see.
The thing that makes the most sense is to sign him and convert him to a relief pitcher so he can hopefully regain some of that velocity and effectiveness. But he will probably just continue being a really bad starting pitcher since that’s where the money is.
The Swingin’ High A’s opening day starter.
Big yikes
Why?
Why is the best question. If some team has a little extra money they might want to try him in relief one inning at a time, but as a SP good luck
It’s a shame that such an exciting pitcher with gas is where he is at his age too. But he doesn’t have it anymore. His fastball doesn’t have the gas or movement anymore. If there’s any truth to this, I would bet it’s either bottom feeders looking for depth or maybe a team sees something they can adjust in him.
It would 100% be a Rays move to trade Glasnow and then sign Thor. Then in spring training we find out that they either converted him into a reliever or changed his arm angle or he starts throwing a new pitch and then all of a sudden, he’s in the all star conversation in June.
He was an exciting thrower of a baseball. His problem is that he never learned to “pitch”.
Yep, agreed. But that’s also an analytics thing too. If you’re able to throw hard and up in the zone. A lot of evaluators don’t matter if you can dot it. He can locate but not as often as he’d like. And his fastball has zero downward movement anymore. It’s so easy for hitters to lift it cause of the lack of velocity now. But now I’m kinda rooting for the Rays to sign Thor now and turn him into the next Darren O’Day.
He never had a problem with pitching when he had a 93 mph slider.
Watching him with the Mets you knew it was a matter of time before his arm fell off. It’s the same store with Severino from the Yankees. These talented guys who start only throwing 93-95mph tweak their mechanics in search of that ace speed. Sometimes they find it like Syndergaard then never smooth out their delivery. His arm was constantly flat you could easily see it when he would be stepping down. Their pitching coach in 2016 Dan Warthen should have been tarred and feathered. That was when Thor’s timing should have been corrected. Most of the rotation had timing issues back then. The careers of Thor, Harvey, DeGrom, Wheeler and Matz have been loaded with injuries. All of them belong to Dan Warthen obviously knowing jack all about mechanics.
Pirates
No He doesn’t like watching them in TV let alone live
At this point I’ll only believe he can turn his career around if the Ray’s sign him.
With half the Ray’s staff undergoing TJ….proclaiming them as yhe new pitching whisperer is a huge reach.
A rebuilding club will take a chance on him. Whether that works out or not is a different story.
In retrospect, all the more stunning that the Phillies got 3 innings out of him to start the decisive Game 4 of the 2022 NL Division Series. Lot of reasons Atlanta lost that series, but one of their hopes was to jump all over Noah and force Game 5 back at home.
So says Noah’s Agent? Noah himself?
Who exactly is saying Noah is in great demand?
Pittsburgh, Miami, Detroit, or Tampa Bay would be my guess.
Miami? I don’t think so. Don’t need him, don’t want him.
Pirates also hopefully saying no thanks. Need to get better starters not worse.
Noah is getting on the ARC
Syndergaard is now a Dollar Store Thor.
Thank you for this haha
As soon as Thor realizes he needs to reinvent himself instead of looking inside an empty bottle known as the past, he might actually become serviceable. LAD and CLE couldn’t get that through his mane let alone his head.
His entire repertoire was based on gas…his secondary stuff is extremely hittable…
Truth. He would great to experiment with as a reliever. He at times looked good with Philly in 22. He no longer has the stamina to be a starter.
Someone will sign him. Whether or not it’s a minor league invite to training camp or an actual guaranteed deal is another issue entirely
There are a lot of MLB-R articles about a lot of pitchers that a lot of teams are interested in.
So why am I skeptical?
This feels like a Cardinals signing. I can hear them now, “oh we’ve loved this guy for years but couldn’t afford him when he was good.”
I’d be interested in him…..6-7 years ago
I would be interested… 6-7 years ago
Wonder if it would be beneficial for him to sign early with a club like Milwaukee and then get in their lab so he can work on his delivery. They have done wonders with guys like Miley, Pomeranz and others.
Stubby, I firmly believe they would have a better shot at getting Ted Williams’ head out of cryostasis, sticking it on a healthy yet underperforming hitter, tinkering with stuff in the “lab,” and the guy then hitting .350 the rest of his career.
This is just the kind of pickup the ‘Chairman’ would like for the White Sox.. A past their prime pitcher that if they ‘hope’ enough will become good for them. Then again, Syndergaard probably wants ‘2023’ money and not ‘1990’ money.
Which ever team signs him needs to realize that a big problem he’s had is his GB% has declined over the years resulting in worse results.
In 2015, he had a 46.5 GB% which translates into a 2.60 GBkwERA and fairly close to his SIERA of 2.95. His highest GB% was 57.6% and it resulted in 2.74 SIERA and a GBkwERA of 1.95. Since 2018, he hasn’t had a GBkwERA below 3.00 and his gone down all these years.
2018: 49%
2019: 48%
2021: 16.7%
2022: 42.8%
2023: 37.2
If the team wants success from him, they need to start getting him to increase that GB%. I still think there’s something in the tank, given he’s only 31 years old but the teams need to understand this fact and need buy-in from the pitcher. The speed to strike guys out is no longer there with him so he needs to understand this fact and either start working on GBs or accept that he might just be a pen guy now for an inning or two.
Pirates or Rays would probably be his best options to help him turn things around.
This is the time when I REALLY need emojis. Specifically the ROTFLMAO emoji.
Thor is a perfect example of why fans should not want young pitchers to just “get their TJ surgery out of the way” when they are young. It is not a 100% success rate. Not all pitchers recover fully. He went from a top 15 pitcher in the league to a bottom of the barrel 5th starter and age likely had nothing to do with it. Maybe he COULD return to form after another offseason of rest, but it’s not likely.
Perfectly said.
“get their TJ surgery out of the way”
==============================
I’m sure someone in the universe has uttered that phrase, but I never heard it.
Is there anyone that actually has TJS to get it out of the way?
Joe, apparently some people have that mindset now. TJS is every young and aspiring pro pitchers birth right. The day you decide to become a pitcher you might as well schedule your future TJS. Ultimate weirdo defeatest attitude for sure..Not sure who thinks it though..
Absolutely correct…TJ is not the guaranteed Golden Ticket to improved performance…..cue the analytics alter people’s heads exploding….
There are zero ‘analytics people’ and hopefully no fans that think TJ IMPROVES performance. I’ve never heard anyone say that. It’s always better to not have TJ but if the elbow is gonna go you just have to hope it happens younger for a better recovery.
Good vibes, as insane as it is, there are actually a few articles online about doting high school Dads trying to get surgeons to do elective TJS surgery on their sons otherwise healthy arms because they think it’s gonna turn them into Henry Rowenhartner. Some people are nutty nuts.
I agree. Thor also tore a lat too. Pretty tough to come back from all that as a pure power pitcher. Very fun player once, unfortunately 2024 may be his last chance.
That’s why teams should be of due diligence when in the Shohei race to sign. No guarantee he will come back to be an effective pitcher in’25. Big gamble
Exactly. Don’t pay him to be a two way guy when there is the high possibility that he will basically be Giancarlo Stanton for the entirety of the contract. Even Babe Ruth stopped pitching after about 5 years. Shohei might be a corner OF or a 1B, but I don’t think I would offer to pay him any more than a DH only guy at this point.
I have been very concerned from the outset of this free agency contest for Ohtani that he will become the next great “remember when everybody was trying to give that guy record breaking money and then he became irrelevant just a year or two after signing that deal and then we got those articles the year the contract ended reflecting on the unfortunately unlucky/bad mega deal that generated little to no return and made the player a non-factor?”
It just seems that he’s a prime example of a guy peaking and then breaking down and falling off a health/productivity cliff right at the same moment.
Multiple teams in the indy leagues?
Damn, what a draw he would be with the FM Redhawks
I remember when Andrew Chafin was with the Cubs, one day while warming up, he was sporting a t-shirt that said “Failed Starter.” While he was clearly poking fun at his role as a relief pitcher, I think it’s time for Syndergaard to explore that route. It’s a big thing to ask a guy like him to put his ego aside to better continue his career, but I just don’t think he’s a viable option to give you even 5 innings consistently every time out.
As long as one of them is not the Dodgers, carry on.
I hear the Milwaukee Milkmen and Gary SouthShore RailCats have inquired.
Syndergaard just never had the mental make up to take advantage of his natural abilities. Such a shame.
His first five years were actually really good. Not sure we’re that take came from.
That was a long time ago….Let his memory fade with dignity…
He was good in 2016 and 2018. Mediocre the years surrounding. I would not say “really good”. And he only had two seasons in his career which he played over 25 games. Im not calling him Mike Pelfrey but to say his first 5 years were really good? Idts.
And further, the purpose of my post was to highlight the fact the kid has/had insane natural ability but his mental makeup unfortunately did not compliment such.
MLB minimum with incentives. Make him a short reliever. He may be good in short outings.
I highly doubt that
I hope Detroit’s not one. They have enough D.L. guys now.
I feel like Noah Syndergaard’s agent wrote this lol
not surprising. mlbtr is an agent driven site. so and so pitcher pitched well 5 years ago. how about a 10 year contract that won’t break the bank?
A natural fit for the rotation they’re building in St. Louis. Mikolas, Lynn, Gibson, Matz and Syndergaard are enough to take them from a 71 win season to a 73.
Gibson and Lynn can get them from 71 to 73. Syndergaard can get them back to 71.
Yup as a Cardinals fan this will be MO’s big offseason signing!!
Let’s add him to the free agent picks. I say he goes to the Pirates.
Only way this works is for a team that uses Thor as your 4/5th or 5th/6th inning guy and keep him under 40 pitches. Not to mention he’s a 1 yr $3m guy.
I agree, mostly. There seems to be a lot of angst in this section that Thor is drawing interest, but if a team can get him for 2 or 3 million dollars, it’s a worthwhile gamble. I’d actually try him as a 3 inning opener first, but I also agree about limiting his pitch count.
Man, sometimes it feels like baseball just kinda ‘takes care of their own’ and gives guys who were once great ambassadors of the game and were great when they were cheap, a ‘retirement and thank you’ package of very lucrative bounce back deals, knowing they’re probably cooked and done.
Syndergaard has been paid $34M over two years for the possibility he might bounce back, but he’s just gotten worse. Maybe he gets another $8.5M or something for another potential bounceback?
3 years/$42.5M for his early retirement coffers?
Nothing against Syndergaard. I’m sure he’s a mix of frustrated in principle about all of this, relieved he’s still getting paid tens of millions to try and mount a comeback and everybody views it as a guy who earned $34M in lieu of the anticipated $200M deal he might’ve signed once upon a time.
TTO, this guy isn’t just DONE, but DONE DONE! Book closed….Chicken in the pot…That’s it….I wouldn’t pay this guy so much as navel lint. People gotta up their standards a bit and have a little pride and not bask in these insane Thor fever dreams. This guy is so beyond DONE that its not even funny.
Dodgers and Guardians couldn’t fix him… I don’t have much hope for a return for Soah Nyndergaard.
Oakland A’s then a nice little upgrade for himself at the mid season deadline. Everybody wins
Baseball has a hard time letting these guys go
Wheeler Dealer, yeah it’s beyond pathetic.
GMs shouldnt….passing on him should be easy.
Bumgarner,Harvey, Snydegaard,Shields,Arrietta Done is Done
He may not be able to get back to what he once was, but I hope he’s able to find success again.
Multiple low single-a independent clubs, I reckon.
This is beyond ridiculous. Thor is done. D-O-N-E….People can almost make anything sound good. But yeah anyone that thinks he has anything left and will help their team is ONE DUMB SUMB!TCH!!!
Metsoptimist, yeah you ring true to your name..First time you heard of this guy?
Any organization that gives him a ml deal doesn’t have firing synapses.
This is practically a Sidd Finch situation…So many people are drunk on Thor’s lore and the “what could have been.” He is done and him still being in the show cheapens the game.
yes, several clubs were intersted, including the you’re washed up club
“Multiple clubs interested in Noah Syndergaard [to pitch batter practice].”
There. Now it makes sense.
Always figured Syndergaard would age poorly. Reminds me of Lincecum. Hard stuff. But couldn’t adjust to playing with his speeds and learning to keep hitters off balance. I hope he finds the right pitching coach. Helps to have someone whose had to make adjustments.
Are these multiple KBO clubs or what?
He’s worth over $65M and in his thirties. Most guys never make it to the majors.
He needs to retire, marry a super hot chick (if he hasn’t already), see the world, etc and at some point become a coach somewhere if he wants to remain connected to baseball.
Pirates future signee
Giants or Mets
I felt bad for him when he gave that interview with the dodgers stating he would do anything to be the guy he was, but a lot of people here have a point. He doesn’t have the stamina or the velocity he used to. I like the idea of converting him into a reliever to increase his effectiveness. Perhaps work on some of his secondary pitches and location and he could see success and therefore gain some confidence back. Or he could get shelled every game and have an ERA like I would if I pitched in the majors.
I’d be interested to see the Rays go after him. They fix pitching/bring out the strengths in their pitchers. Syndergaard should come cheap because his recent years he’s been been bad but he’s still got good stuff so low risk high reward. Plus the Rays have half their pitcher missing a big portion of next season plus will likely trade Glasnow…seems like a fit to me
He should connect with RA Dickey. That’s something I’d watch AA games for.
He’ll be a Pirate or a Twin.
Dude had a golden chance at bounce back season with the Dodgers in 2023 and he stunk it up. Any GM that gives him a guaranteed MLB contract at this point is a fool. He’s a certified grade A chump.
Hey, he’s an ex-Dodger: Farhan will probably be all over this instead of one of the real free agent pitchers that the Giants need. But, he will need to get him on the cheap so he can brag what a strategic move it is.
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the As. You think he’d sign anywhere for more than a couple million and the As will sign anyone that will help them lose games..
Talk about being a long shot; a lottery ticket.
Didnt 2023 prove that he could not capably pitch any more?
Lol, he shouldn’t get anything more than a minor league deal at this point.