Today, on Dodgers.com, Juan Toribio has a great piece on Noah Syndergaard, who sounds like he has had a fork stuck in him. Andrew Friedman has made a number of excellent acquisitions, but this is not one and you can’t win them all.I think AF is about to end the charade. Toribio writes this:
Thor still struggling to regain his thunder
With diminished velo, Syndergaard has seen ERA soar to 6.27 in 1st season with Dodger
–Juan Toribio
“Over the past few seasons, the Dodgers have gone into free agency keeping their options open for finding upside on the market.
In 2022, that strategy worked to perfection. Tyler Anderson had a breakout season and turned it into a three-year deal with the Angels this offseason. Andrew Heaney also had solid outings when healthy, and he signed a two-year deal with the Rangers. For Heaney, Anderson and the Dodgers, the signings turned beneficial for both sides.
This year, Los Angeles tried the same approach with Noah Syndergaard, signing him to a one-year deal worth $13 million. Syndergaard had even more success than Heaney or Anderson before injuries derailed his career.
Through 11 starts, however, the signing hasn’t produced good results. Syndergaard struggled once again in the Dodgers’ 9-3 loss to the Rays on Friday night at Tropicana Field, allowing six runs over six innings of work.
“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 [I’ll] just continue to work my butt off in between starts to snap out of this.”
Syndergaard, of course, is talking about the 100 mph four-seam fastball he used to throw during his first five seasons with the Mets, a time that saw him become one of the most dominant young pitchers in the game. But as injuries piled up, Syndergaard lost the ability to throw hard; he’s now averaging about 92.4 mph. And the right-hander continues to chase his old velocity, which perhaps has been detrimental to his overall performance.
Syndergaard has tried different methods, including hypnosis, to try to get back to the pitcher he once was. Instead, Syndergaard’s 6.27 ERA is the third worst in the Majors among pitchers with at least 11 starts.
“I think everyone around here knows I’m the most determined person to get back to where I used to be,” Syndergaard said. “I just haven’t been the same since I had my setback when I was coming back from Tommy John [in March 2020]. Still working through that and just maintain positivity and come in ready to work.”
While Syndergaard “knows for a fact there’s still more in there,” the Dodgers will have to start balancing allowing him to figure things out on the fly while weighing the overall production, which has been poor so far.
At this moment, the Dodgers can’t afford to remove Syndergaard from the starting rotation because of their mounting injuries. Julio Urías (left hamstring strain) will be out for at least one more week, and Dustin May (right forearm strain) is out until after the All-Star break. Ryan Pepiot (left oblique strain) is still not throwing off a mound, ruling him out for at least two more months. Michael Grove (right groin strain) has started his rehab and is one more start away from being a potential option.
The development and production of young pitchers Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone will also determine just how long the Dodgers stick with Syndergaard in their rotation.
“I think right now where we’re at, I wouldn’t say that we have an internal option right now,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “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.”
Those results weren’t good against the Rays, who own the best record in baseball at 38-15. Tampa Bay scored five runs through the first three innings off Syndergaard and just missed a few more homers. To Syndergaard’s credit, he did get through six innings, giving the Dodgers’ bullpen a boost for the next two games.
But at this point in the season, it might no longer be practical to continue to look for silver linings every time Syndergaard steps on the mound. Syndergaard needs to find results in order to stay in the rotation, and he knows it.
“I wouldn’t say confidence is lost long term. I think short term it is,” Syndergaard said. “But I think if I just focus on getting 1 percent better each time, I think soon we’ll be in pretty good shape.”
I think he is just praying! He has nothing left. He seldom hits 93 MPH. The Dodgers can’t continue down this path! Michael Grove is getting healthy, but I would call up Landon Knack. The Dodgers can use the roster space they get by releasing Thor. Yes, I am suggesting the Dodgers “Eat” the remainder of his contract. They obviously won’t…. at least not today, but they have a better internal option with Landon Knack, who can pitch at a much higher level. He just needs a chance.
I am also hoping that James Outman can turn it around. In the past 15 games, he is hitting.156 and he now has 65 strikeouts in 166 ABs. His leash is getting short, and unless he can turn it around, they may send him back to OKC to see if they can fix it there. He’s not reached that point… yet, but change needs to occur…
I think the experiment has gone on long enough. They are in a pennant race. 1.5 games in front of the D-Backs and all of a sudden, SD and the Giants are playing better. Put your foot on the gas peddle Andrew, lets go.
The Dodgers have a lot of better options if they choose to DFA Thor. Right now , even with two strikes he can’t put away batters. He hasn’t unfortunately regained velocity after his surgery .He’s probably a nice guy, hard worker with poor results. It’s time to move on.
Jonny DeLuca went 4-5 last night with 2 HR and a double, Watch him!
Approaching belly-itcher status.
Yes, let’s see what Knack can do.
Thor’s struggles increase the chances that AF & Associates will see SP talent at the trade deadline. I have high hopes for Miller and Stone, but I also expect that injuries will be a struggle all season. Getting a proven veteran SP to shore up the rotation is a possibility. It would be fun to see Lance Lynn –or Rich Hill!–but a guy like Giolito could mean more long-term. (I’m just trying to think of guys who might be on the market.
Outman’s slump is so bad that we overlook Muncy’s struggles. Over the last 30 days, both have an OPS near .580, as does slugging Miguel Rojas.
Max and Outman pretty much carried the offense during the first month, but now stars like Freddie, Will, JDM and Mookie have really stepped up. Here’s their recent 30-day OPS state: Freddie 1.065, Mookie .965, JDM .964, Will .941. In a platoon role, Heyward has been up there too–.946–and Vargas has been solid at .805. Then there’s a pretty big drop to Peralta and Taylor, both at .692.
Remarkably, Will Smith’s OPS for the season is even higher at .978. When he’s been healthy, he’s been simply great. Now he was 23 walks against 12 Ks. Does anyone in the majors have a better ratio?
Smith’s plate discipline has always been good, but this seems unreal. The next-best run for him was in covid-shortened 2020 season, in which he had 20 walks against 22 Ks.
When the Dodgers get whupped like this, I try to note the positive. So kudos to Chris Taylor for stellar OF defense and also to Mookie for another gold-glove caliber OF assist. Did the guy look safe on the replay? Well, let’s just say it wasn’t clear enough to overturn the call on the field.
The Rays announced this morning that they’ve activated right-hander Tyler Glasnow from the injured list. In a corresponding move, right-hander Cooper Criswell was optioned to Triple-A. Glasnow will start this afternoon’s game against the Dodgers.
Bauer’s travails: Welcome to the Minors.
https://youtu.be/Jaw-o_YDrG0
4:10 PM ET
Dodgers (31-21) 1st place NL West
Rays (38-15) 1st place AL East
SP Clayton Kershaw L
6-4 2.98 ERA 57.1IP 69K
SP Tyler Glasnow R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
DH J. Martinez R
3B Max Muncy L
CF J. Heyward L
2B M. Vargas R
LF D. Peralta L
SS Miguel Rojas R
In Domed Stadium
Friday scores
Oklahoma City 5, Sacramento 4
Tulsa 4, Northwest Arkansas 3
Great Lakes 11, Peoria 9
Rancho Cucamonga 10, Lake Elsinore 9 (10 innings)
Saturday schedule
4:35 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Justin Wrobleski) at Peoria (Ian Bedell)
5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (River Ryan) vs. NW Arkansas (Alec Marsh)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Luis Valdez) vs. Lake Elsinore (Henry Williams)
6:37 p.m.: Oklahoma City (TBD) at Sacramento (TBD)
All 4 Dodger Minor League teams are in sole sole possession of first place in their respective divisions
* Watching games when Syndergaard pitches is like putting bamboo splinters under my fingernails. He is horseshit. He has no movement at all, on his pitches. The sinker doesn’t sink. the curve doesn’t curve and the cutter doesn’t cut. He’s just meat.
* I get pissed when Noah doesn’t allow his team to be competitive defensively. His inability to hold runners just buries Smith.
In the 3rd, Walls hits a harmless single. Three pitches later he’s standing on 3rd with Noah being 1.45 and 1.6 to home. Will made 2 great throws but he has no chance. Walls scored on another single for practically a free run. Every hit or walk is a double or triple.
I know we have guys like Urias and Grove on the shelf short term, but I’d bring up Knack. Syndergaard is a dead man walking. I’ll chip in for his ticket out of town and save the automatic loss ever 5th day.
* Orel said the catchers down on one knee, trying to catch a wide breaking ball with runners on, “drives old school guys crazy”. Count me in. I will never get it. He said it promotes a better, lower target and framing. Bullshit. Just move the glove lower.
* Muncy is killing us in the middle of the order right now. He has zero interest in situational hitting. He’s just up there wailing. Last night he was 0 for 5 and was retired with 7 guys on base, out of the Dodgers 11 for the game.
In the last 2 games, Max is 0 for 10, make unproductive outs with 13 ducks on the pond.
But today is another opportunity to play better.
Yes Muncy he has one approach , damn the torpedoes and damn the team
I can understand a player being in a slump, but I can’t understand a player being selfish.
I put some of that on the manager for not demanding more from his players
Pretty much the same for Taylor
I don’t get the one knee thing either. Some hard core stats people have made the determination that that gaining that slight advantage on framing outweighs the obvious problems it creates with runners on. But I’m with Orel.
Get your knee off my lawn!
From The Athletic:
Quite a tailspin for Outman. Everybody goes through it. But it might be time for a visit to OKC to work out his struggles and get some confidence back. I’m sad to say…….
I distinctly recall Outman’s tailspin began around the 26th/27th of April, so his “slump” has been ongoing for at least a month now.
Muncy sticks to that approach because when he’s “on” he’s one of the best hitters in the game. When he’s “off”, he’s a abysmal. April Muncy would have likely driven in 4 runs yesterday. I think this is close to the same Muncy as last year. One of the most “feast or famine” players in the game.
If Mook, Freddie and Smith hadn’t stepped up, the last couple weeks would have been really really bad. Given Muncy and Outmans slump (and all the pitching injuries) we’re probably lucky we’ve played .500 baseball in that period.
I agree with everybody on Thor. We’re way better off giving Knack (or almost any other of our prospects) a shot. They literally can’t be worse. But I doubt the Dodgers make that move now. I predict Thor gets two or three more starts (regardless if he improves). It’s just not like AF to fill the rotation with rookies. Even when it’s a better option. I think it’s more likely they find some FA pitcher on the junk heap and hope Prior has some of that pixie dust left. I think this might be the trade deadline where AF does what he rarely does; packages up a bunch of young arms and trade chips to land a SP, even a rental.
The next couple weeks might be difficult to watch. But I suspect they’ll find a way to get back to winning. They always do.
Great post, IMO
Yes, but Max isn’t “on” enough to warrant swinging out of his Nikes on every pitch
This stuff with Max and Taylor has just been going on for too long
Of course, when he hits five home runs in the next three games, I’ll deny I ever wrote this
I feel the same way about Barnes. Do something to move runners and manufacture some runs with him because he can’t hit. He should work on being the best bunter in baseball.
I’m with you on old school baseball. Catchers on one knee is crazy my coaches would have hit me in the head with a bat for doing that.
Muncy, Taylor and Barnes wailing away makes me crazy. No clue about situational hitters, simply move a runner over by chocking up and making contact. Also just bunting to make contact and track pitches. I’m always amazed at the analytics that encourages swinging and striking out is better than bunting and moving runners over.
As for Taylor’s offensive production, he’s a shell of his former 2017 – 2021 self.
Jayne your comment on Muncy being “ON” or “OFF” speaks to my point about his disregard for situational hitting. He makes no attempt to adjust to the circumstances and try do do anything but walk or pull the ball out of the park. He gets an occasional sac fly because he missed a home run. It’s not a comparable approach but Freddie Freeman can alter his swing based on what’s needed. He can adjust to the situation.
Max in a dead-pull mode again which causes the “famines”.
Outman 2 week slump that started May 12th.
Game log link.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=outmaja01&t=b&year=2023
Vargas 11 day slump May 3-14.
Game log link.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=vargami01&t=b&year=2023
Did anyone say anything about Vargas slump?
One word: “Injury.”
A month and 3 days later.
Dodgers will give Syndergaard more starts it appears but I am curious when Roberts says they have no internal options. Grove will be ready in a week (and was an internal option last year) and Miller and Stone would be in the starting rotation for quite a few teams right now. I know pitching 3 rookies, essentially, in your rotation is not ideal but neither is a 7.00 era. Not sure what other box Landon Knack needs to check to go to AAA but according to Brandon Gomes he is a lot closer to MLB than most think. Syndergaard still seems to be coming to grips with succeeding with reduced velocity. Got to be a tough adjustment to go from dominant stuff like he had to mediocre velocity.
Agree with Phil on Muncy. He has left so many runners on third with less than two outs in the last week or so. He has become the trapdoor for opposing pitchers. He can get scorching hot for a week or so – power wise – and be completely ineffective for three weeks. I wonder if the line up would be better with Peralta or Heyward in that spot where they make more consistent contact behind Betts Freeman Smith and Martinez. Between Muncy Taylor and Outman we have failed to make contact frequently where contact would likely score a run. Reminiscent of last year.
Outman is going through an adjustment for sure. I would think he is going to start losing some ABs to Peralta and Heyward. A trip back to AAA is not out of the question. His strike out percentage is alarming right now and shows no sign of correcting itself. Hope he regains his confidence and can make the mechanical adjustment.
De Luca is starting to hit in AAA. Maybe with another month or so of at bats in OKC and solid results he could be a potential replacement for Thompson.
A 4-6 road trip given the injuries to May and Urias, two rookies starting in Atlanta, a taxed bullpen, short starts, and the level of competition would be okay.
NHD – I think if Outman is going to lose ABs to Heyward and Peralta, he needs to play everyday in OKC and not sit on the bench. I think he will be fine but as I mentioned, he needs to work stuff out and get his confidence back. It happens all the time and I would expect him back better then what we are seeing now. Either that or let him play through it. But he can’t sit and watch.
My post is in jail, not that it matters.
Bail Paid!
Eric,
Everything you rely on is about stats.
The problem is; HUMANS PLAY THE GAMES!
I look at stats. They tell part of the story, but you also have to use your eys and context.
Every time Miguel Vargas moved up a level, he struggled and then became a .300 hitter.
This year was exacerbated by his injuries.
Even Ray Charles can see that Vargas is a hitter.
I rely on results (stats).
But I digress.
As we were saying. Liking Muncy’s approach
Ditto……..LOL
JDM….””Have bat will travel”
Miguel Vargas with a totally pathetic at bat there with a guy on 3rd and 1 out.
Be a man and swing the bat!
4 BLAH outings out of last 5 for Kersh
Big missed opportunity with neither Smith nor Martinez able to get Freeman home from 3rd with just 1 out.
Way to go Miggy! Vargas sitting on a fastball and nailed it. THAT’S the aggressive mindset we’ve been waiting for!!
Piggybacking on previous comments. It really irritates me when the catcher is on a knee with runners on base or two strikes on the batter. Lucky for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers have had a dead zone at the bottom of the order for a few years and have trouble generating runs down there. What makes it worse is all of the strikeouts. If they get a runner on they can’t move him along with all of the strikeouts.
Exactly!
Who’s that Siri moron? Padres might hire him.
The top of the Dodgers order did most of the damage in this game.
Except for Vargas’ HR and Rojas’ one important hit ahead of Mookie driving him home, the bottom of this order again produced nothing offensively.
This is by design though
Peralta had a hit, so it wasn’t a complete bust.
good point, I missed that
I like Caleb, but is Phillips the closer or not? If he is, then let him close!!!
Phillips has never been anointed the closer.
Then he should be, ..but regardless.. unnecessarily pulling him from the mound while up 2 runs with just 2 outs away from securing the win ..as he’s clearly sailing along getting outs with total command of his pitches, ..nearly cost the Dodgers the game.
I do not have all the information at my fingertips, but Doc does – from the Dodger Brass, and I suspect he knew something we didn’t!
We are playing checkers.
They are playing chess.
They put him in because the meat of the order was coming up. Let Roberts do the brainstorming and maybe listen to the announcers. Phillips usually faces the meatiest part of the order, especially in a tight game.
Okay, I’ll be more detailed in my thinking –
Yes, Phillips did face the meatiest part of the Rays order in the 8th, and got through that inning with relative ease ..allowing only one base runner. And even more pointedly, he had crisp command of his pitches and his stuff looked better than ever. Then he started the 9th, faced the first batter and got him out with ease. And since the final 2 batters posed no problematic “match up” lefty/righty issues for him, and with Phillips obviously in total command on the mound, he was clearly poised to close out that game with only 2 outs remaining and a fairly comfy 2 run lead, ..so there was no logical reason to yank him from the game. Period.
Finally, my displeasure with Phillips getting yanked after 1 out in the 9th inning came IMMEDIATELY when it was done, NOT during the time when we all witnessed Fergy come within a whisker of giving up 2 runs while struggling BIGLY to get the last 2 outs of the game.
So I can’t stand accused of practicing 20/20 hindsight.
Prediction – With all the pitching injuries and bottom order holes plaguing this group now, it seems fated that the Dodger team assembled by August will be significantly different than the one we’ve seen so far in April & May.
Taylor/Thompson- 3 ABs- 3Ks
A snapshot of the bottom order problems going back to last year.
Michael Grove on the mound tonight for Oklahoma City in his second rehab start.
For all the Doc criticism perhaps it’s time to give him credit for having a rag tag roster of rookies and some underperforming veterans (CT3, Thor, Thompson), a shaky SP, no specific closer, a boom or bust offense, but yet still in first place and the best NL record.
Good on you Doc, good on you!
This is not on Doc. It is on AF and ownership. Doc can only play with what they give him. And in my opinion, AF has crapped himself.
No, it’s not on Doc or AF – It[‘s on the owners who did not want to spend any money! It’s on the owners who welcome the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence!
This team strikes out way too much. Nuff said. Stop swinging for a HR on every pitch and every count. Put the freaking ball in play..
It seems that the Rays are so tough because of being so rally oriented on the base paths. Individuals creating opportunities. One can see they’ve drilled more for the running game for their primary weapon as a whole. That 3 base steal was poetry as replay showed. It was no fluke, it took science and drills with new bases and replay that made it poetry.
The throw was there in plenty of time, it was a poor tag. Shouldn’t tag a runner on the chest and let his hands get to the bag first.
Dodgers have been doing the closer-by-committee thing. All considered, it seems to be working OK>
With all the injuries and other troubles, the rotation seems like a greater need.
But with trade season approaching, two big name relievers should be on the market.
Aroldis Chapman (I know, I know…) is pitching great for a Royals team going nowhere. He is certain to be dealt to a contender.
Liam Hendricks, back from cancer, could also be dealt–and, perhaps, fit into a package that could appeal to Dodger brass.
Will Smith now has 24 walks and just 12 Ks.
That’s exceptional…. even within the small club of guys with more BBs than Ks:
Juan Soto 50/49
Rutschman 41/31
Bregman 28/22
Kwan 28/24
Jose Ramirez 24/18
Alejandro Kirk 19/18
Rendon 19/15
With injuries hampering the Dodgers’ rotation, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team could “potentially” target pitching at the trade deadline, but it will still be a while before the Dodgers know a firmer recovery timeline for Julio Urias or Dustin May. “Right now with where we are, it’s gonna be a little more shell game-ish if we have more injuries. But we’re thinking through that and trying to be as prepared as we can be if that happens,” Friedman told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters. May won’t be able to return until at least mid-July due to his placement on the 60-day IL, and Harris writes that May received a PRP injection as part of his treatment for a flexor pronator strain. Beyond the injuries, Noah Syndergaard’s rotation spot might also be a question mark as the righty continues to struggle.
Michael Grove’s nice outing last night at Oklahoma City: 5.2IP 5H 0R 0ER 0BB 7K 1.80ERA 77 pitches 56 strikes This was his second rehab outing.
Grove averaged 95.2 mph on his fastball, hitting 97.3 mph on Saturday, after averaging 95.4 mph in his first rehab start last Sunday. The right-hander averaged 93.9 mph on his fastball in four major league starts this season, and averaged 94.4 mph in the majors last year.
But the slider was the pitch Grove threw most often on Saturday, and for good reason. He got 12 swinging strikes on the pitch, finishing off all seven strikeouts with the pitch.