Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
With the 2022 MLB trade deadline winding down the Phillies have made a notable addition having acquired starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard from the Los Angeles Angels.
Per Jayson Stark of The Athletic, the Phillies have sent Mickey Moniak and OF Jadiel Sanchez to the Angels.
Phillies have traded Mickey Moniak and a second prospect to the Angels for Noah Syndergaard, sources tell @TheAthleticMLB
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 2, 2022
The former Mets pitcher was linked with a number of teams that needed another quality arm in the rotation, and it is the Phillies who have won the Syndergaard sweepstakes. This is a considerable development as far as the Mets are concerned given that not only is Syndergaard back in the NL, but it has been a good day for divisional rivals the Phillies who also acquired reliever David Robertson from the Chicago Cubs earlier in the day.
Syndergaard is pitching in his first full season since 2019 since having Tommy John surgery, and it has been a nice comeback season for the righty so far. Despite being on an Angels team that has struggled yet again, Syndergaard has a 3.83 ERA on the year with 1.2 WAR and a 1.213 WHIP. He also has 64 strikeouts and 22 walks in 80 innings pitched.
Granted, some of Syndergaard’s filthy stuff has been missing since undergoing TJS. His K/9 rate is 7.20–the lowest of his career–and he ranks in the bottom third in strikeouts, whiffs, fastball and curveball spin. However, his fastball velocity is still above league average and he’s turned his sinker into a very effective pitch. The 29-year-old uses the sinker 26.2 percent of the time with opposing hitters hitting just .179 against it and slugging .211. As of yet, no batters have hit a home run off of the sinker yet.
He’s certainly become more of a contact pitcher than he used to be.
There’s also the durability factor, though. Syndergaard pitched just 14 2/3 innings in July and he could be put on a pitch count for the rest of 2022 given that he’s still finding his way back from surgery. Given that the Phillies are probably not a true contender this year though, Syndergaard should be a nice depth piece at the back of the rotation.
Syndergaard, who is an impending free agent, has a career 3.37 ERA with 841 strikeouts, a 16.1 WAR and a 1.167 WHIP. The Mets have seven more games against the Phillies this year so it is likely that they will face a reunion with their former starter at some point for the first time since he left Queens last winter.
