SYNDERGAARD’S $21M SALARY IS CHUMP CHANGE FOR PLAYOFF-BOUND PHILS
By Sam Bush
The consensus is that the Phillies are focused like a laser on trading for Angels hurler Noah Syndergaard before 6 pm tonight.
He’s on a one-year deal, so there’s no reason for the Angels to keep him.
But he’s also making $21 million, or about $7 million over the final two months, and hasn’t been particularly great.
He’s had 64 strikeouts in 80 innings and averages just 5 1/3 innings per start despite pitching on five or more days of rest all season.
He’s now a 94 mph sinkerballer when he used to throw triple digits, and his overall swing-and-miss rate on all his pitches is in just the 30th percentile.
He’s basically a pitch-to-contact guy now. The Angels will probably have to pick up some of the money in order to get a decent prospect in return.
Prediction: Phillies. Hey, the money might not matter to the Phillies, and Syndergaard could conceivably line up as their No. 3 starter in a playoff rotation behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.
