Dodgers: Best 'Under-the-Radar' Move for LA this Offseason was a Starting Pitcher

Dodgers beat writer Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic says signing pitcher Noah Syndergaard was LA's best under-the-radar move from this winter.

The Dodgers had a relatively slow offseason, mostly watching from the sidelines while other teams spent huge dollars in the free-agent market. But they did make a few additions in free agency and a couple trades, along with help coming from the farm system.

Over at The Athletic, they've written about each team's best "under-the-radar" move this winter. Dodgers beat writer Fabian Ardaya wrote the blurb for Los Angeles, and the move he chose was the starting pitcher LA added.

It’s cheating, since this is the second-biggest guarantee the Dodgers gave someone this winter, but it’s Noah Syndergaard. The Dodgers have shown a track record when it comes to pitching development, taking Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney and turning them into effective starters (and in Anderson’s case, an All-Star) in 2022. Syndergaard is a similar, if not more sculpted ball of clay for the Dodgers to work with. At the very least, he provides some insurance for a rotation that has promising young arms in Ryan Pepiot, Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone but doesn’t want to overwhelm them early.

Syndergaard was one of the most intimidating pitchers in baseball early in his career, but he's still working his way all the way back from Tommy John surgery. He threw 134.2 innings last year with a 3.94 ERA between the Angels and Phillies. His velocity was noticeably down, and he's said he hopes he can get back to the triple-digit heat he used to bring before his elbow injury.

As Ardaya mentioned, Syndergaard provides some pitching depth that will hopefully allow LA to bring their prospects along at their own pace. Best-case scenario, he regains his All-Star form and is a big contributor. Either way, he should easily be worth the $13 million Los Angeles is paying him this year.


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Jeff J. Snider
JEFF J. SNIDER

Jeff was born into a Dodgers family in Southern California and is now raising a Dodgers family of his own in Utah. He's been blogging about baseball and the Dodgers since 2004 and doing it professionally since 2015. Favorite Player: Clayton Kershaw Favorite Moment: Kirk Gibson's homer will always have a place, but Kershaw's homer on Opening Day 2013 might be the winner.