Noah Syndergaard's Struggles Continue with Dodgers: Is It Time for a Change?

Noah Syndergaard's journey with the Dodgers has been a challenge.

As his ERA skyrockets, the Noah Syndergaard era hasn't gone well for the Dodgers. The right-hander allowed another 6 runs in a loss to the MLB-best Rays on Friday night, boosting his already high ERA to 6.27, third worst among pitchers with 50 innings or more.

When the Dodgers signed the former All-Star, the hope was that he could be the organization's next Tyler Anderson type. Instead it's been almost all cringe and hard hit balls for the opponent. 

"Just not a lot of positive emotion right now when I think about pitching, in particular,” Syndergaard said. “It’s just hard going out there with the weapons you used to have kind of being taken away from you, and throwing what I’m possessing right now is not enough to successfully battle a team like that. But just continue to work my butt off in between starts to snap out of this."

As Syndergaard signed with LA, he cited the team's track record for resurrecting careers. His goal was to regain the 100mph fastball that has eluded him since he blew out his elbow in 2020. 

So far, no good on that front.

That fastball is the primary weapon the pitcher is referring to. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was informed of Syndergaard's down demeanor and longing for that fireball.

“I get the sentiment. But I would argue that he had the best fastball he's had tonight. But he might have had the worst command that he’s had this season. But as far as chasing velocity, I get velocity. Command plays, too.”

Syndergaard has now allowed 6 or more runs three times this season. In his other starts, he's ok but far from good. Roberts was prodded on whether the Dodgers would consider giving up on the 30-year-old and cut consider cutting their losses on the $13 million experiment. Given the state of the rotation and the number of starters on the injured list, Dave thinks there isn't a clear replacement at this time.

“I think right now where we’re at, I wouldn’t say that we have an internal option right now, on this day. As we kind of look out and we keep going, we have some other options down the road. But I think right now, we’ve got to continue to run him out there and expect better results.

“I think that we’re starting to see enough of a sample to figure out what we’re going to do going forward. I do see that he’s competing. He cares. But yeah, it’s about results and I think you also have to kind of think about options and what makes the most sense. We’re already thin with the staff and you’ve got to be smart in the sense of, we’ve got a long way to go.”

As tough as it has been to watch, the Dodgers do have more time to let him figure things out as they wait for the trade deadline to near. They also have several prospects pitching exceptionally at the Double-A level. Landon Knack, Nick Nastrini, and Kyle Hurt to name just three.

Via Baseball-Reference.com

Andrew Friedman has been hesitant to call up players directly from AA in the past but given the options available at the higher levels, the Dodgers are one more injury away from desperate times.