Cleveland Guardians Hope Noah Syndergaard Can Bolster An Injury-Depleted Rotation

For much of this baseball season the working theory was that the offensively-challenged Cleveland Guardians would eventually trade a pitcher, perhaps even former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, for a hitter to bolster a Cleveland lineup that has hit the fewest home runs in the major leagues.

Wednesday night the Guardians did make a trade.

They traded a hitter for a pitcher, and it made perfect sense.

Cleveland traded shortstop Amed Rosario to the Dodgers for pitcher Noah Syndergaard. For the Guardians, the trade was necessary for two reasons. One is that Cleveland is in second place in the AL Central, two games behind division-leading Minnesota. The other reason is that the Guardians have been operating with a starting rotation that includes three rookies.

“This trade allowed us to do a few things, and bringing Noah into our organization adds to our pitching depth,” said Cleveland’s president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti.

The Guardians needed to add to their pitching depth, because their projected starting rotation for this season has been virtually wiped out. Bieber hasn’t pitched in a game since July 9, due to elbow inflammation. He was recently transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.

No. 2 starter Triston McKenzie has only appeared in two games all season, the last of those being on June 20, due to a Teres Major strain. No. 3 starter Cal Quantrill has only pitched in two games since May 30 due to shoulder inflammation. Aaron Civale is taking a regular turn in the rotation now, but he missed most of the first two months of the season with an oblique strain.

The three rookies in the Guardians’ rotation who are trying to keep the rotation afloat are Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams. Once every turn through the rotation Manager Terry Francona is forced to employ a bullpen game.

Hence, the decision by the front office to trade Rosario to the Dodgers for Syndergaard, who in 12 starts for Los Angeles this season was 1-4, with a 7.16 ERA. In just over 55 innings, Syndergaard has struck out 38 and walked nine, but opposing teams are hitting .313 against him, with 12 home runs.

The 30-year-old Syndergaard has been sidelined since June 7 with a blister issue. He was scheduled to have a minor league rehab start today in the Dodgers’ system, but instead, he flew to Chicago to join his new team. Syndergaard will have a bullpen session today, after which Guardians officials will decide whether he needs another rehab start, or is ready to start taking a regular turn in Cleveland’s rotation.

“He has not regained the stuff he had when he was younger, but that’s not our expectation,” Antonetti said. “We’re looking to build from where he currently is to become an effective member of our pitching staff for the balance of the season.”

While Syndergaard has been sidelined with a blister, Antonetti said the pitcher has been working to refine his mechanics, and he’s made progress in his last two rehab starts.

Rosario, who can become a free agent at the end of the season, was a key performer for the Guardians last year, when he hit .283 with 11 home runs, 18 steals, and he led the American League in triples and singles. However, his defense at shortstop has declined significantly this season, and the Guardians, have a surplus of middle infield prospects who appear to be big-league ready.

Specifically, Gabriel Arias and Tyler Freeman are the two leading candidates to replace Rosario at shortstop.

“Arias has been inconsistent, but it’s hard to get a read on a player in a parttime role, especially when transitioning to the major leagues,” Antonetti said. “What we’re hopeful for (with Arias) is that with more consistent playing time he can provide more consistent production.”

As for Freeman, “He’s really fundamentally sound at shortstop,” Antonetti said. “He can make all the plays there. Exactly how we align our infield will take some time to work through. We feel we have two good options at middle infield.”

In addition to trading for Syndergaard, the Guardians, who are last in the American League in home runs, are also recalling outfielder Oscar Gonzalez from Triple-A Columbus. Gonzalez became an October hero in Cleveland last year when he produced two walk-off hits to win playoff games against the Yankees and Tampa Bay.

At Columbus this year Gonzalez hit .275 with 11 home runs. All of Cleveland’s outfielders combined have hit .247 with 12 home runs. Against left-handed pitchers Cleveland’s outfielders have hit .241. At Columbus, Gonzalez has hit .350 against left-handers.

“We’re hoping the regular playing time he had down there will benefit him up here,” said Antonetti.