Noah Syndergaard joined the Los Angeles Dodgers on a one-year, $13 million contract prior to the 2023 season in an attempt to find some of his old form.
The former New York Mets ace was coming off a down year, but carried high hopes with his new club. Syndergaard spent most of the offseason working with Dodgers pitching coaches and prioritized ironing out mechanical changes during Spring Training.
However, the veteran right-hander posted a 6.32 ERA, 4.66 FIP, 1.40 WHIP with a .305 batting average allowed through his first six starts. Syndergaard struggled over a stretch from May 9 through June 7 as well, failing to register any semblance of a quality outing.
During that run he carried an 8.25 ERA, 6.63 FIP, 1.50 WHIP and a .310 batting average allowed. The Dodgers wound up trading Syndergaard to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Amed Rosario.
Syndergaard finished his Dodgers career with a 7.16 ERA over 12 starts and 55.1 innings pitched. His underlying metrics did not paint a better picture either.
Syndergaard spoke about his struggles with the Dodgers his following the trade, acknowledging he was disappointed at how his tenure panned out. Similar sentiments were also echoed earlier in the year when he owned up to his bad starts with the Dodgers.
Once the Guardians reinstated Syndergaard from the injured list, he continued to struggle. Over 33.1 innings, he allowed 20 earned runs, including 10 home runs of the 33 hits allowed.
The Guardians designated Syndergaard for assignment on August 28 and outright releasing him two days later after clearing waivers. He did not sign with another team following that point.
In total for the 2023 season, Syndergaard pitched to a 6.50 ERA in 88.2 innings, by far the worst mark of his career.
Noah Syndergaard 2023 highlight
Syndergaard had his best outing of the season in his Dodgers debut on April 2. The right-hander struck out six over six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing just four hits and one earned run.
2024 outlook
After an abysmal 2023 season, Syndergaard was last reported of having interest from a few clubs. However, he remains unsigned, and the best route for him to join a Major League team would be in a buy-low scenario where he can attempt to find a rhythm.
But considering Syndergaard was unable to turn his career around with both the Dodgers and Guardians, two teams that have a track record of helping pitchers, his outlooks is bleak.
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