It wasn’t even 13 months ago that the Phillies traded Mickey Moniak to the Los Angeles Angels for Noah Syndergaard, but for the 6-foot-6 right-hander, it may feel like a lifetime ago.
Syndergaard will now be searching for his fifth team in the last 13 months, because the Cleveland Guardians designated him for assignment on Sunday. Syndergaard was acquired by Cleveland a month prior, when the Dodgers sent him there for shortstop Amed Rosario.
To put it lightly — and as the team-hopping might suggest — 2023 has not been Syndergaard’s year. He posted a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts with the Dodgers from the beginning of the season through July, then a slightly-better 5.40 clip in six outings with Cleveland before the DFA. He’d signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Dodgers in the offseason after his brief stint in Philadelphia last year.
Though Syndergaard still wasn’t the fireballer he once was as a New York Met, that Phillies stint provided some reasons for optimism of the one-year Dodgers contract. Syndergaard made nine starts and 10 total appearances for the Phillies in the regular season, posting a 4.12 ERA — which was about all the Phillies expected in return for Moniak, who seemed unlikely to find his footing (as he since has) without a change of scenery. Syndergaard took down some crucial innings in the postseason as well, throwing three innings of one-run ball in the NLDS clincher over Atlanta and earning a hold against the Padres in NLCS Game 4. He even started the World Series Game 5 that most Phillies fans would like to purge from memory, allowing two runs in three frames.
No, Syndergaard wasn’t an ace for the Phillies, but he helped them win postseason games and looked like he’d at least stick around in the Majors as a viable back-end starter.
Things have taken a turn for the worse, though. Now, Syndergaard is five years and four teams removed from his last electric season with the Mets, when his ERA barely exceeded three in 2018 — and four years removed from throwing nearly 200 innings in 2019.
Injuries, of course, are largely responsible for the downfall. Syndergaard is still just 30, so it’s unlikely this is the end for him in the Majors — but he’s going to have to fight his way back into a starting rotation, and the kind of ace-level status he once enjoyed feels like a ship that has long since sailed.
Must-read (or watch, or listen) Phillies content
- Phillies Nation‘s Destiny Lugardo recapped Aaron Nola’s dominant start Sunday against the Cardinals, clinching a rare sweep of St. Louis.
- She also spoke with Rhys Hoskins, who’s ramping up his ACL rehab as he tries to make a speedy return in October for the postseason.
- Bryce Harper is closing in on 300 homers. Mike Schmidt is confident he’ll get to 500, as Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
- Speaking of Moniak, he went on Sunday’s High Hopes Podcast with Jack Fritz and James Seltzer ahead of his return to Citizens Bank Park this week.
- A hurt (emotionally) José Alvarado ribbed Trea Turner for not wearing his custom-made necklace gift late in Sunday’s win, before Turner deflected.
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