A year ago, the Cleveland Guardians’ starting rotation consisted of Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, Aaron Civale, and Zach Plesac.
Five days ago the Cleveland Guardians’ starting rotation consisted of Civale, Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, Gavin Williams, and the bullpen.
Due to the fact that virtually the entire 2022 rotation is currently on the injured list, the Guardians have run out of starting pitchers, so every fifth day Manager Terry Francona has been forced to use a collection of relief pitchers to get through the game. It’s called “a bullpen game,” and it’s the bane that haunts major league managers everywhere.
It’s forced Francona and Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis to be magicians every fifth day as they try to piece together a combination of relievers to get the team through that day’s game.
That’s not any manager’s idea of a good day at the office, so on July 26 Cleveland’s front office traded shortstop Amed Rosario to the Dodgers for pitcher Noah Syndergaard, and Francona immediately penciled him into the Guardians’ rotation.
Monday night in Houston, Syndergaard will make his Guardians’ debut. What are Cleveland officials hoping to see from the 30-year-old right-hander? For starters, they’d like to see a healthy Syndergaard, who hasn’t pitched in a game since June 7, due to a blister on his index finger.
He threw a successful bullpen session for the Guardians after joining the team, and was immediately slotted into the rotation, and will start tonight’s game in Houston.
Only one pitcher from Cleveland’s opening day rotation is healthy and taking a regular turn in the rotation. That’s Aaron Civale, who is normally the fourth or fifth starter, but is currently No. 1, and showed why Sunday, when he pitched six scoreless innings on three hits in the Guardians’ 5-0 win over the White Sox. Prior to the Syndergaard trade, Cleveland’s next three starters after Civale were Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams – all of them rookies.
So in Syndergaard, assuming he stays healthy, the Guardians are getting an experienced, veteran starter to help bolster Cleveland’s rotation, and provide leadership to a painfully inexperienced group.
Monday night’s start in Houston will be Syndergaard’s first since June 7 vs. Cincinnati. Syndergaard was removed from that game after three innings, due to his blister. He had allowed six hits on seven runs, with no walks and three strikeouts.
In 12 starts overall for the Dodgers this year, Syndergaard was 1-4 with a 7.16 ERA, 38 strikeouts and nine walks in 55 innings. In his eight years in the majors, spent with four different teams, Syndergaard has a career record of 58-45, with a 3.65 ERA. He immediately becomes the most experienced pitcher by far in the Guardians’ rotation.
According to Spotrac, Syndergaard is on a one-year $13 million contract he signed with the Dodgers. The Guardians will be responsible for $2.7 million of that amount.
In facing the Astros Monday night, Syndergaard will be going against a team that he hasn’t faced very often in his career, but when he has, he’s pitched well. In two career starts vs. the Astros Syndergaard is 1-0, with a 2.89 ERA. In those two games he held Houston hitters to a .152 batting average.
His most recent appearance against Houston came while pitching for the Angels on July 12, 2022, when he had no decision in a 6-5 loss. He pitched four innings allowing three runs on three hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
More than anything else, what the Guardians would love to see out of Syndergaard over the remainder of the season is a dependable starter who can stay healthy, get outs, and bring some leadership to Cleveland’s very-young rotation.
Presumably, one of the biggest benefits to the addition of Syndergaard, again, assuming he stays healthy, will be that it allows the Guardians to eliminate the dreaded “bullpen game” they have been forced to use in recent weeks.
That, in turn, will reduce the strain on the team’s relievers, who as a group had been one of the strengths of the team the last couple years. But that hasn’t been the case this year as various relievers have had to pitch in on “bullpen day” games, which diminishes the effectiveness of the group as a whole.