The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list due to a blister on his right index finger, and recalled Tayler Scott from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds.
Syndergaard lands on the IL after starting 1-4 with a 7.16 ERA and 1.45 WHIP through 12 starts this season. He’s allowed the third-highest on-base plus slugging percentage at .554 and most stolen bases at 20.
Syndergaard additionally has the third-highest ERA by a Dodgers pitcher through the first 12 starts of a season. Only Hideo Nomo (7.26 ERA in 2004) and Carlos Pérez (7.25 ERA in 1999) had higher marks than Syndergaard.
His latest struggles came in a no-decision against the Reds in which Syndergaard allowed six runs over just three innings. He squandered two leads in the process as the Dodgers went on to suffer an 8-6 walk-off loss at Great American Ball Park.
Following the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed Syndergaard had still been dealing with the blister issue and also suffered a cracked fingernail. Although Roberts acknowledged those were not excuses for a continuous string of subpar performances, he suggested change was ahead.
The first instance of a blister being an issue came May 9, when it cut open and limited Syndergaard to just one inning pitched against the Milwaukee Brewers. However, he continued with the practice of applying Dermabond, and it kept the blister sealed in ensuing starts.
Meanwhile, Scott is back with the Dodgers two days after getting optioned to Oklahoma City as the corresponding move to Nick Robertson having his contract selected. Scott has thrown 1.2 scoreless innings in his lone appearance and is now up with the Dodgers for a third time this season.
He previously spent parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues with the Seattle Mariners (2019), Baltimore Orioles (2019), San Diego Padres (2022). Scott became the second South African player in MLB history when he made his debut on June 8, 2019.
Will injured list help Noah Syndergaard?
As the 30-year-old continued to struggle in his starts, Syndergaard highlighted one of the challenges being attempting to make adjustments between starts.
Now on the IL, he should have time to work on his mechanics and more without the pressure of making regular starts. But how much Syndergaard will benefit from the de facto time off is unclear.
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