The San Francisco Giants had hoped they would land Corbin Burnes in free agency, a move that would have fortified their starting rotation with one of baseball’s best starters.
That didn’t happen. So, as of now, the Giants head to spring training this month with a rotation headed by innings eater Logan Webb, who made the All-Star team last year.
But there are a host of other options that include veteran Cy Young winners Justin Verlander and Robbie Ray. On the young side, there is Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, Tristan Beck, Landen Roupp and Keaton Winn. Top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt is even waiting in the wings at Triple-A.
There is enough there to cobble together a solid rotation. New president of baseball operations Buster Posey said recently that he feels good about the roster he has now.
But, what about one more move, one that is low-risk, high-reward and could pay off handsomely?
What about Noah Syndergaard?
The 32-year-old former All-Star is back to working out in his native Texas, and the New York Post’s Dan Bartels posted this video of Syndergaard throwing during a workout that Syndergaard posted to Instagram.
No downside to a spring training invite. Noah Syndergaard, 32 — why not?
Could be a great bullpen piece — or 6th starter.pic.twitter.com/pt0t4DSvul
— Dan Bartels (@DanBartels2) January 31, 2025
It appears that Syndergaard has that arm strength back.
Plus, a look at his feed shows he’s been doing weight and other strengthening work at Top Prospects Academy in Southlake, Texas.
Posey, who caught for the Giants’ three World Series teams, knows what it is like to face Syndergaard at his best. Their careers overlapped at a time when the former first-round pick was one of the best pitchers in baseball.
He broke into the Majors with the New York Mets in 2015. In a five-year stretch, he helped the Mets reach a World Series, finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting and made the 2016 All-Star team.
From 2015-19 he went 47-30 with a 3.31 ERA with 775 strikeouts and 166 walks.
But Tommy John surgery in 2020 derailed his career.
Since resuming full-season pitching in 2022, he’s pitched for four teams and he’s gone 12-16 with a 4.96 ERA with 151 strikeouts and 50 walks in 223.1 innings. In fact, he didn’t even pitch in pro baseball last year.
Syndergaard may be looking for one last shot, and a peer-to-peer relationship may help Posey land him, as it did with Verlander. He won’t cost as much as Verlander did, either. Syndergaard would strictly be a flier.
But, if he’s close to where he once was, it’s worth the risk.
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