Former New York Mets All-Star pitcher Noah Syndergaard is getting another crack at resuming his career on the mound.
The Chicago White Sox signed the 32-year-old righthander to a minor-league contract, according to multiple reports on Tuesday morning.
Syndergaard was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft as the 38th overall pick, before being traded to the Mets in December 2012. Syndergaard was sent to Queens along with one-time All-Star catchers John Buck and Travis d’Arnaud as a part of a blockbuster deal that landed 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey north of the border.
“Thor” made his big-league debut in May 2015 and finished fourth in that year’s NL Rookie of the Year voting after going 9-7 with a 3.24 ERA, career-best 1.04 WHIP and 166 strikeouts across 150 innings pitched (24 starts). Joined by 2014 NL Rookie of the Year and 2015 first-time All-Star Jacob deGrom atop New York’s starting rotation, Syndergaard helped lead the Mets to the World Series, where they fell to the Kansas City Royals.
He had his best season in 2016, finishing 14-9 with a career-low 2.60 ERA and sharp 1.14 WHIP, as well as career-high 218 strikeouts over 183 2/3 innings covering 31 games (30 starts). With a fastball that routinely crept into the upper-90s and occasionally touched 100 miles per hour, Syndergaard made his only All-Star team that year and also finished eighth in the NL Cy Young voting.
The Mansfield, Texas native was limited to seven starts in 2017 and 25 in 2018 due to injuries, before he recovered to go 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA and record career highs in innings pitched (197 2/3), games and starts (both 32) in 2019. Syndergaard underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and missed the entire pandemic-shortened campaign, before coming back for just two appearances in 2021.
It’s Been Nearly 2 Years Since Noah Syndergaard Was Last on MLB Mound
He signed with the Los Angeles Angels in November 2021 but lasted just 15 starts out west and failed to show his pre-surgery form, before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in August 2022.
Syndergaard inked a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2022 but he was again traded, this time to the Cleveland Guardians, in July 2023. Cleveland released him just one month later, however, and hasn’t appeared on a major league diamond since.
Does Syndergaard Have Anything Left in the Tank?
It’s fair to question whether Syndergaard has anything left to offer a big-league club, given the lack of production in his most recent MLB season two years ago.
The tall righty’s numbers (2-6, 6.50 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) between the Dodgers and Guardians in 2023 were the worst of his career. Syndergaard’s 56:19 strikeout to walk ratio in 88 2/3 innings pitcher that season were a troubling sign as well and he’ll turn 33 in August.
Syndergaard has pitched 225 1/3 innings and posted a 4.99 ERA since his Tommy John surgery, with a 15.9% strikeout rate, which is “nowhere close to his prior standards,” according to a report by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors.
Adams added that during his prime, Syndergaard’s fastball averaged 98.6 miles per hour but since the surgery, it’s dropped to 93.2.
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