Veteran pitcher Noah Syndergaard had hoped that a move to the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the 2022 season would help him return to earlier-career form. He also had a goal of returning Los Angeles to the playoffs after an extended absence.
None of this came to fruition ahead of Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline. Instead, the former New York Mets ace is headed to a playoff contender in that of the Philadelphia Phillies in a deal immediately ahead of the deadline passing on Tuesday.
According to, MLB insider Bob Nightengale, Los Angeles receives young outfielder Mickey Moniak and prospect Jadiel Sanchez in return for Syndergaard.
This is the second deal that the Angels and Phillies have pulled of on deadline day. Earlier on Tuesday, Los Angeles sent defensive-minded outfielder Brandon Marsh from th AL West team for a top-three prospect.
An All-Star with the Mets back in 2016, injuries and a slowing down of his velocity has impacted the 29-year-old Syndergaard recently. With that said, he was pitching at a decent clip for the Angels prior to Tuesday’s trade.
- Noah Syndergaard stats (2022): 5-8 record, 3.83 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 64 strikeouts in 80 innings
There’s certainly some concern over Syndergaard’s decreased velocity. That has impacted both his strikeout rate and other factors.
| Noah Syndergaard velocity | Fastball mph (avg) | Slider mph (avg) | Curveball mph (avg) | Changeup mph (avg) |
| 2018 | 97.4 | 92.0 | 83.1 | 90.3 |
| 2019 | 97.7 | 89.1 | 80.4 | 91.1 |
| 2021 | 94.7 | N/A | N/A | 88.2 |
| 2022 | 94.1 | 83.5 | 76.2 | 88.5 |
Despite this, Eno Sarris of The Athletic notes that Syndergaard ranks in the top-15 among MLB starting pitchers in location+ — a metric that measures command. With a descreased velocity, it appears that he’s shown more command.
Related: Updated MLB trade rumors
Impact of the Philadelphia Phillies landing Noah Syndergaard on MLB trade deadline day
In addition to Marsh and Syndergaard, the Phillies added veteran reliever David Robertson in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. It’s rather clear that front office head David Dombrowski is looking to compete for a playoff spot moving forward this season.
Philadelphia entered Tuesday’s action with a 55-47 record and in third place in the National League East. It is 10 games behind the first-place New York Mets and trails the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves by 6.5 games. Right now, it’s all about earning a wild card spot and going from there.
Noah Syndergaard joins a rotation headed by Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola. Whether that will be enough for Philadelphia to play competitive fall baseball remains to be seen.