Guardians officially release Noah Syndergaard

As expected, Noah Syndergaard has officially been released by the Cleveland Guardians, according to the transactions log on MLB.com. This comes a few days after Syndergaard was designated for assignment by the club.

Syndergaard was never going to be long for this Guardians team as he had one job and one job only, eat innings. Cleveland was down starting pitchers Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie at the time the Guardians acquired him from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Amed Rosario. Cleveland would later trade the only other starter with experience, Aaron Civale, to the Tampa Bay Rays, leaving Syndergaard and the kids to handle the rotation.

The 31-year-old made six starts for the Guardians, allowing 20 runs (21 total) in 33.1 innings, finishing with a 5.40 ERA and 1.290 WHIP during that span. Syndergaard did have two outings with just one run allowed, but 18 allowed in his other four starts was a clear issue. It is not just that Syndergaard was allowing runs, it is the fact that so many came via the home run. Syndergaard allowed 10 home runs in his brief time as a Guardian, and that is simply unacceptable.

This level of performance is pretty consistent with how he pitched during his time in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. In fact, it is (slightly) better than what he was able to accomplish in his stint in the National League West division (7.16 ERA, 1.446 WHIP, 12 home runs allowed in 55.1 innings).

Things have just gone well for Syndergaard in recent years, being on five teams in three seasons (Mets, Angles, Phillies, Dodgers, and Guardians). Now on the other side of 30 with a lengthy injury history, in addition to a decreased performance level, it is fair to wonder how many more opportunities he will get in the future.