For the Cleveland Guardians, six starts of Noah Syndergaard was enough. On Sunday night, the Guardians designated Syndergaard for assignment hours after he surrendered five runs, including three home runs, in six innings in an extra-innings win over the Toronto Blue Jays (CLE 10, TOR 7 in 11 innings). Syndergaard had a 5.40 ERA in 33 1/3 innings with Cleveland.
"It just feels like I'm pitching on ice skates," Syndergaard told MLB.com earlier this month. "I feel like every time I try to use my legs, they slip out underneath me."
The Guardians acquired Syndergaard from the Los Angeles Dodgers straight up for Amed Rosario at the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The Dodgers threw in enough money to make the trade cash neutral, so Cleveland didn't raise payroll, and the trade amounted to two clubs swapping underperforming rentals. My extra infielder for your extra pitcher. That sort of thing.
Rosario has played well in a limited role with Los Angeles -- he is 12 for 41 (.293) with three doubles and two home runs against left-handed pitchers since the trade -- while Syndergaard allowed at least five runs in three of his six starts with Cleveland. He allowed 10 home runs in his 33 1/3 innings and opponents slashed .252/.324/.519 against him.
Getting dropped from the roster by the pitching-needy Guardians -- Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, and Cal Quantrill are all on the injured list with arm problems -- is the latest setback for Syndergaard, who turns 31 on Tuesday. He should still be in the prime of his career. Instead, it's been speed bump after speed bump the last few years. Consider his career timeline:
- 2015-19: Highly effective starter (119 ERA+ in 716 innings) with the New York Mets. Syndergaard arrived as a hard-throwing phenom in 2015, and went to the All-Star Game and received Cy Young votes in 2016. He regularly threw 100 mph and was that era's Spencer Strider or George Kirby. The young power pitcher who could front a rotation.
- 2020: Tommy John surgery in spring training. Roughly one-third of big-league pitchers have had Tommy John surgery and the elbow ligament monster came for Syndergaard shortly before spring training was halted by the pandemic. With a normal Tommy John surgery rehab, the injury would have wiped out his entire 2020 season and the early part of his 2021 as well.
- 2021: Syndergaard suffered a setback during a minor-league rehab start in May, specifically inflammation in his surgically repaired elbow. A few weeks later he tested positive for COVID and had to halt his rehab. Syndergaard got back on the mound in August, made three one-inning minor league rehab appearances, then he made two one-inning appearances for the Mets at the end of the season. He did not throw any breaking balls during what was essentially a last-minute free agent showcase. It was fastballs and changeups only. Those two one-inning appearances were Syndergaard's only MLB action from 2020-21.
- 2022: Syndergaard signed a one-year, $21 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels and wound up going to the World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies following a midseason trade. He pitched well enough -- 3.94 ERA (102 ERA+) in 134 2/3 innings -- but was clearly diminished. His fastball velocity was down noticeably and, not coincidentally, he struggled to miss bats.
- 2023: The Dodgers signed Syndergaard to a one-year, $13 million contract and he said he signed with Los Angeles specifically because they've helped so many pitchers get to the next level. Tyler Anderson, who Syndergaard effectively replaced in the rotation, is a great example. Here's what Syndergaard told MLB.com about signing with the Dodgers:
"I feel like everything that they touch turns to gold," Syndergaard said. "This is a pretty surreal moment. It's been my dream ever since I was first introduced to Dodger Stadium. … I just feel really fortunate and blessed to play for such a great organization."
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Syndergaard said "there's no excuse" for why he can't get back to being the pitcher he once was. He's still figuring out his post-surgery mechanics and delivery. The Dodgers are eager to get their hands on him after the holidays.
"Whatever I was doing last year was not the best version of me," Syndergaard said. "Just have to have the confidence to go out there and be free and easy. … I have the utmost confidence in the coaching staff and the Dodgers organization to get me back to feeling that way."
Whatever the Dodgers tried with Syndergaard, it did not work. He allowed 44 runs in 55 1/3 innings in 12 starts -- opponents hit .313/.350/.551 against him in those 12 starts -- before landing on the injured list with a blister in early June. It felt like a mercy IL. A way to get Syndergaard off the roster and give him a chance to work behind the scenes and maybe reset things. The Dodgers never did bring Syndergaard back, instead trading him to the Guardians while he was still on the injured list.
Tommy John surgery has a high success rate but it is not perfect, and Syndergaard returned from his elbow reconstruction greatly diminished. His average sinker velocity dipped from 97.7 mph in 2019, his last pre-Tommy John surgery year, to 94.0 mph in 2022 and again to 92.5 mph in 2023. Strikeouts are hard to come by now and, when hitters connect, the ball is leaving the yard with great frequency.
For Syndergaard, this year's struggles are especially frustrating and worrisome because the Dodgers and Guardians are arguably the two best pitching organizations in baseball. If they can't fix you, I'm not sure who can. Maybe the Tampa Bay Rays, and maybe that's where Syndergaard winds up given Tampa's pitching injuries, but two pitching-savvy organizations had a crack at him already this year, and both cut bait. This isn't like picking up someone cast aside by, say, the Colorado Rockies, you know?
The Guardians have seven days to put Syndergaard on waivers and release him, and he will clear waivers. No team will assume the $2.2 million or so that remains on his contract. Once Syndergaard clears waivers, he will be free to sign with any team for the prorated portion of the $720,000 league minimum. Cleveland and Los Angeles are on the hook for the rest of his $13 million salary.
The results have been very bad the last two seasons and the eye test has somehow been worse. Because pitching is always in demand and Syndergaard has pedigree, and because he'll only cost the league minimum, my guess is he'll hook on somewhere in September. Maybe the Rays, maybe back to the Angels now that Shohei Ohtani has been shut down from pitching, maybe somewhere else entirely. There's enough demand for pitching that some team will roll the dice at the minimum, right?
Sometimes great pitchers -- and Syndergaard was a great pitcher earlier in his career with the Mets -- get hurt and stop being great pitchers. It's cruel but it happens. It happened to Matt Harvey, Syndergaard's former teammate in Queens. It looks like it's happening with Luis Severino with New York's other team. Can Syndergaard be salvaged? It's easy to dream on him figuring it out next year, but when the Dodgers and Guardians move on from a pitcher, it's a bad sign. Syndergaard is running out of chances.