Thor is bolting for Los Angeles.
Flamethrowing one-time All-Star starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard decided to leave the New York Mets to sign a one-year, $21 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
BREAKING: Right-hander Noah Syndergaard and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $21 million deal, pending physical, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 16, 2021
The Angels bolster their staff with the highest-upside arm on the market — and pay a heavy price, plus a second-rounder.
Source: RHP Noah Syndergaard’s 1-year $21 million deal with Angels does NOT include any vesting options
— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) November 16, 2021
He chose LAA straight up over the Mets for $2.6 million extra than the QO would’ve given him. Mets get a 2nd round pick as compensation
As noted by MLB Network insider Joel Sherman, since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2020, Syndergaard has pitched just two innings (at the end of the 2021 season), but the big righty is still just 29 years old. USA Today's Bob Nightengale pointed out that Syndergaard is ironically leaving general manager Billy Eppler's new club in New York and joining his old team out west.
Syndergaard was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft at the age of 17 before being traded to the Mets in December 2012 as part of a seven-player deal that included former Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey. Syndergaard made his MLB debut in May 2015 and went 9-7 that season with a 3.24 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 166 strikeouts across 150 innings pitched.
The Mansfield, Texas, native made four appearances, including three starts, during the Mets' run to the 2015 World Series and started the team's wild-card game loss to the San Francisco Giants in 2016, firing seven shutout frames while allowing just two hits and three walks against 10 strikeouts. In five career postseason outings, Syndergaard has gone 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while recording 36 strikeouts in 26 innings.
Syndergaard finished fourth in the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year voting and spent the next four seasons dominating atop to Mets rotation alongside two-time NL Cy Young Award-winner Jacob deGrom. Syndergaard's best season came in 2016 when he went 14-9, earned his lone All-Star appearance and had a career-best 2.60 ERA — which ranked third in the league — and career-high 218 strikeouts (fourth).
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