Former Angels Pitcher Cut by AL Wild Card Rival

An old friend alert for the Halos.

File this one under "oh... how about that." On Sunday, the Cleveland Guardians made the unexpected decision to cut a recently acquired pitcher just one month after picking him up in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That pitcher is, of course, former Angels right-hander Noah Syndergaard.

FanSided's Robert Murray was the first to report the DFA.

Right-hander Noah Syndergaard has been designated for assignment by the Cleveland Guardians.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) August 27, 2023

Since the Angels traded Syndergaard to the Phillies last year, it's been a constant uphill battle for the former All-Star. He posted a 4.12 ERA in 10 games in Philadelphia and was taken out of the starting rotation for the Phils' Cinderella postseason run to the World Series last year. 

In the offseason, he signed a $13 million deal with the Dodgers and posted a 7.16 ERA over 12 starts before the team buried him on the injured list for more than a month before eventually trading him to Cleveland for Amed Rosario.

Soon Thor will be back on the open market as a free agent and, despite a decent time with the Halos in 2022, should not be someone Perry Minasian explores bringing back.

Both the Guardians and Angels have fallen on hard times since the trade deadline a month ago and have in all reality fallen out of the AL Wild Card hunt heading into September.

The Angels enter play on Monday 10.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot and the Guardians sit one game behind at 11.5 back.