‘Thor' Goes West: Syndergaard to Sign With Dodgers After Stint With Phillies

Noah Syndergaard headed to Dodgers after solid stint with Phillies originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Eerily quiet, the typically aggressive Dodgers made their biggest free-agent move so far this offseason by reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with Noah Syndergaard.

It's worth $13 million for one year, according to the New York Post, with $1.5 million in incentives.

Syndergaard, Kyle Gibson and Zach Eflin are all now former Phillies after signing elsewhere. Gibson signed a one-year deal worth $10 million with the Orioles, while Eflin signed the largest free-agent contract in Tampa Bay Rays history at three years, $40 million.

Syndergaard impressed with the Phillies after being acquired from the Angels at the 2022 trade deadline for former first overall pick Mickey Moniak. Syndergaard went 5-2 with a 4.12 ERA in 54⅔ regular-season innings with the Phils, then made four postseason appearances with starts in the NLDS against Atlanta and World Series against Houston, allowing three runs in 8⅓ innings.

There was a chance entering the offseason that the Phillies could reunite with Syndergaard, who spoke glowingly about his time here, but that door seemed to close once the Phils agreed to a four-year, $72 million contract with starting pitcher Taijuan Walker, a deal that still has not been officially announced. The Phils will probably still add rotation depth ahead of spring training but it figures to be a less expensive arm than Syndergaard.

While rotation depth is still necessary for the Phillies behind Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Walker, the more pressing need now is back-end bullpen help to go with Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado and Matt Strahm.

Coming off a 111-win season, the Dodgers' offseason has progressed slowly. It has been reported that they are trying to reset their luxury tax after exceeding it in 2021 and 2022. It has also been reported that Trevor Bauer's suspension could be overturned within the next month, which would affect their luxury tax figure.

The only moves the Dodgers have made this offseason have been one-year deals for Syndergaard, Shelby Miller and Jason Heyward and a one-year pact to re-sign Clayton Kershaw. They've lost Trea Turner to the Phillies, Tyler Anderson to the Angels, Andrew Heaney to the Rangers, Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees and Cody Bellinger to the Blue Jays. Justin Turner, Craig Kimbrel and Joey Gallo are also free agents.

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