Dodgers Land Noah Syndergaard on One-Year, $13-Million contract
Noah Syndergaard (aka. Thor) hopes to rejuvenate his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, signing a one-year deal worth $13 million on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old, who split last season between the Los Angeles Angeles and Philadelphia Phillies, is returning to the west coast for the 2023 season as he aims to rediscover his previous All-Star form. And he couldn’t have signed with a better organization to attempt that feat.
The Dodgers have been immensely successful at maximizing pitchers’ full potential over the years, both at the minor and major-league levels. They’ve also produced their fair share of reclamation projects, with Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney as the franchise’s most recent beneficiaries.
Both signed one-year deals last off-season before enjoying quality performances in 2022, translating those showings into multi-year contracts this winter. Now Syndergaard hopes to follow a similar path.
And the 2016 All-Star isn’t hiding his excitement about joining the seven-time World Series champions, expressing his feelings via social media shortly after the initial news broke, tweeting a GIF that implies he can’t wait to arrive in Los Angeles.
Syndergaard hasn’t been the same dominating pitcher since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020, and he’s also struggled to stay on the field, logging just 136.2 innings over his last two seasons. And yet, the right-hander still garnered plenty of interest in free agency.
After posting a 3.94 ERA and a 3.83 FIP worth 2.2 fWAR last season, the former New York Met reportedly fielded multiple multi-year offers from other clubs. But the allure of redeveloping himself with the Dodgers was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
One of the first goals will be trying to enhance the 6-foot-6 righty’s fastball velocity, which averaged in the upper 90s from 2015-19 but has since dipped to 94 m.p.h. post-surgery. As a result, its usage declined from 29.3 percent in 2019 to 14.9 percent last season, causing the veteran hurler to rely more on his secondary offerings.
Syndergaard’s sinker became his primary weapon in 2022, pushing its usage to a career-high 31.7 percent, with opponents hitting .235 and .310 against it. So it was a plus pitch. But without his high-powered four-seamer, he couldn’t generate as many swings and misses.
Because of that, the Mansfield, Texas, native’s strikeout (16.8 percent) and whiff rates (20.1 percent) ranked in the 12th and 11th percentiles, respectively. His chase rate (29.2 percent) also finished in the 48th percentile, all of which were the lowest of his career.
The Dodgers have a habit of executing the impossible, though, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Syndergaard becomes the next successful project of pitching coach Mark Prior. And if that occurs, it’ll surely help him land a lucrative deal next winter.
For now, Syndergaard is joining a talented starting rotation that includes Julio Urías, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May. Together, that group will attempt to lead Los Angeles to an 11th straight playoff appearance in 2023.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Arturo Pardavila III. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.