Duane Kuiper joins Alex Pavlovic and Cole Kuiper on Giants Talk to break down the impact Buster Posey’s retirement will have on the Giants offseason.
Former New York Mets starter Noah Syndergaard has traded in his blue pinstripes for a dash of red after signing a one-year, $21 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels, according to multiple reports. As a result, Syndergaard will decline the $18.4 million qualifying offer the Mets extended him.
Having thrown just two innings over the last two seasons, Syndergaard joins the Angels looking to put a lengthy rehab from Tommy John surgery behind him. The right-hander’s last full season came in 2019, when he posted a 4.28 ERA over 32 starts for New York. He turned in productive campaigns in both 2016 and 2018, but the injury bug has hit him hard throughout his career.
The Angels (77-85 last season) add Syndergaard to a rotation anchored by two-way star Shohei Ohtani and little else. They posted a 4.78 starters’ ERA in 2021 that ranked as the ninth-worst mark in the majors. The Syndergaard signing is the first move of what is expected to be an overhaul of their rotation, which lost to Dylan Bundy, Alex Cobb, Andrew Heaney and José Quintana to free agency this winter.
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SIGN UP HERE Meanwhile, the Mets gain a compensation pick following the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft for losing Syndergaard. Though they haven’t relied on him for innings the last two years, Syndergaard’s departure looms large particularly with fellow starter Marcus Stroman on the open market as well. New York finished with an identical record to that of the Angels last season, losing its grip on the NL East down the stretch after controlling the division for most of the first half.
The Mets have also reportedly tied themselves to the Angels via an agreement with former Los Angeles GM Billy Eppler, who will reprise the same role in Queens after being fired in 2020.