The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Syndergaard is sent to Guardians for Rosario
Before adding the starting pitching they need, the Dodgers have subtracted one they decided they definitely don’t.
The Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians agreed to a trade that sends right-hander Noah Syndergaard to Cleveland and brings shortstop Amed Rosario to the Dodgers.
Syndergaard has been on the injured list since early June as much for ineffectiveness (a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts) as the blister on his index finger which provided cover for the move. He was scheduled to make his third start for Triple-a Oklahoma City on a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment on Thursday.
The deal is also expected to include money going to the Guardians to offset the difference in the two salaries. Both are free agents after this season. Syndergaard is owed approximately $4.9 million for the rest of this season, Rosario $2.9 million.
The trade also dims the Dodgers’ reputation as makeover artists for wayward pitchers. Syndergaard signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Dodgers last winter, saying he felt the team’s pitching coaches could “get me back to not a serviceable four or five guy but another ace, like I was before (Tommy John) surgery.”
Syndergaard, 30, proved to be far less than serviceable, getting batted around and failing to recover the high-90s mph velocity that had been a part of his past. He is now headed to his fourth team in the past two years, having split 2022 between the Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies.
The deal is the second trade in as many days to bring the Dodgers a middle infielder with better offensive numbers against left-handed pitching — an area the team clearly wants to address before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Acquired from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for two minor
league pitchers on Tuesday, Kiké Hernandez was in the Dodgers’ lineup at second base on Wednesday and went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles against Toronto.
Rosario, 27, has hit .302 with an .816 OPS against left-handed pitching in his career, .262 with a .668 OPS against righthanders.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would not comment on the pending trade following Wednesday’s game but did say of Rosario: “I do know that I like him as a ballplayer.”
With Miguel Rojas getting most of the starts at shortstop (72), the Dodgers have gotten a collective .223 batting average and .630 OPS that rank 26th among major-league teams.
Rosario’s defense, however, has been among the worst at the position this season. Defensive metrics show him with a negative-16 defensive runs saved (DRS) and negative-12 runs above average (RAA). Both are the lowest among all infielders this season.
Hernandez’s defense has also been troublesome this year. His 14 errors in 64 games at shortstop for the Red Sox are tied for the most at the position in the majors.
Hernandez ready to resume familiar role of utility player
The prodigal son has returned. “Crazy world,” Hernandez said Wednesday morning, back in Dodger blue after being acquired from the Red Sox.
“It’s weird to be here. It feels like it’s
been forever but at the same time it feels like it was yesterday that I was here. There’s so many emotions that I don’t even know how to put them all into words.”
A key role player on the Dodgers’ annual division championship teams starting in 2015 and a member of the 2020 World Series championship team, Hernandez left as a free agent that winter, signing with the Red Sox because he wanted a chance to be an everyday player.
He got a career-high 585 plate appearances in 2021. But a hip injury that resulted in a hematoma in his core muscles cost him 60 games last season and his bat never recovered. He hit .222 over his final 180 games with the Red Sox – with a deeply underwater Ops-plus of 67. That left him vulnerable when Trevor Story’s anticipated return this week created a roster crunch in Boston.
“Those are things that can consume you if you think about it too much,” said Hernandez, who was greeted with a loud ovation before his first at-bat back at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday afternoon against the Blue Jays. “I caught myself one day thinking about it during the game and told myself I wasn’t going to think about it anymore. I was like, ‘Maybe if I start playing better, I won’t get traded.’ Let’s just focus on that.”
Back in blue, Hernandez will step back in time in more ways than one. His role will be limited to starting against lefthanded pitching with occasional pinchhit or defensive replacement opportunities — the same kind of role that caused him to chafe before leaving as a free agent.
“Back to the way it was. Just looking to be able to contribute in any way I can,” he said.
“With the season that I was having, I’m not in any position to be asking for playing time or anything like that.”
That topic was quickly on the table when Roberts greeted Hernandez on Wednesday.
“I think when we had him the first time there was a strong desire to be an everyday player. I don’t fault him for it. That’s what you want from all your guys,” Roberts said. “But I do think he’s in a position now where he’s much more open to the role. I think with that, with clarity and openness, I think he can thrive for us this year.”