A pair of former New York Mets teammates were traded for each other on Wednesday as the Los Angeles Dodgers sent right-hander Noah Syndergaard to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for shortstop Amed Rosario.
Syndergaard, 30, has been on the injured list since early June due to a blister on his right index finger. Most recently, he was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Syndergaard, who landed a one-year, $13 million deal with Los Angeles last offseason, went 1-4 with a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts as a Dodger.
An All-Star with the Mets in 2016, Syndergaard will join his fourth team in two seasons after being dealt from the Los Angeles Angels to the Philadelphia Phillies at last year’s trade deadline.
When healthy, Syndergaard will provide depth for a Cleveland rotation missing three of its top starters — righties Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill.
In eight major league seasons with the Mets (2015-19, 2021), Angels (2022), Phillies (2022) and Dodgers (2023), Syndergaard is 58-45 with a 3.65 ERA in 158 games (156 starts).
Rosario, 27, joins a Dodgers team that just acquired utilityman Enrique Hernandez from the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Rosario, who is hitting .265/.306/.369 with three home runs and 40 RBIs in 94 games, also struggled on defense with the Guardians this season. He is making $7.8 million this year after an settling a potential arbitration case.
Due to hit free agency this offseason, Rosario debuted with the Mets at age 21 in 2017 and was part of the 2021 deal that sent shortstop Francisco Lindor and right-hander Carlos Carrasco to New York.
In seven seasons with the Mets (2017-20) and Guardians (2021-23), Rosario has hit .273 with 57 homers, 133 doubles, 401 runs and 316 RBIs.
The Dodgers hope Rosario can provide more offense at shortstop than Miguel Rojas, their incumbent at the position. Rojas, 34, is batting .225/.283/.273 with no homers and 11 RBIs in 73 games.
–Field Level Media