Noah Syndergaard agrees to one-year deal with Dodgers
Syndergaard spent the final two months of the season and the playoffs with the Phillies. He becomes the third free-agent starting pitcher to leave since the World Series.
For a second year in a row, Noah Syndergaard signed a “pillow contract” with the intention of awakening his inner Thor.
Syndergaard, who spent the final two months of the season and the playoffs with the Phillies, reached a one-year agreement Wednesday with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The structure of the deal, which is reportedly worth $13 million, was once dubbed a “pillow contract” by noted agent Scott Boras because it affords a landing spot for a player to reestablish his value for one year before going back out on the market.
The Phillies acquired Syndergaard from the Los Angeles Angels in an Aug. 2 deadline trade for former No. 1 overall pick Mickey Moniak. He replaced injured Zach Eflin in the starting rotation and posted a 4.12 ERA in 54⅔ innings over 10 games (nine starts).
Syndergaard, 30, was removed from the rotation down the stretch but made two abbreviated postseason starts. The right-hander allowed one run in three innings of an 8-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the divisional round and gave up two runs in three innings of a 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 5 of the World Series.
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Early in his career, Syndergaard rose to prominence with a young New York Mets rotation that included Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, and Matt Harvey. Nicknamed “Thor,” Syndergaard underwent Tommy John elbow surgery in 2020 and hasn’t regained the upper-90s sizzle on his fastball. He signed a one-year, $21 million contract with the Angels last year to try to reestablish both his heater and his value.
With the Phillies, pitching coach Caleb Cotham and director of pitching Brian Kaplan worked with Syndergaard to throw more sinkers rather than four-seam fastballs. Syndergaard was hardly dominant, but the Phillies did win six of his starts.
Syndergaard is the third free-agent starting pitcher to leave the Phillies since the World Series, following Eflin (three years, $40 million from Tampa Bay) and Kyle Gibson (one year, $10 million from Baltimore). The Phillies agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract with right-hander Taijuan Walker that is expected to be finalized this week.