The Noah Syndergaard experiment didn't work

He's been awful in 2023

© Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

I was optimistic about the Noah Syndergaard signing, I’ll admit it. The Dodgers needed a starting pitcher. Clearly, the team saw something they liked with Syndergaard.

He wasn’t horrible last season, posting a 3.94 ERA in 25 games with a 3.83 FIP. Put him in the Mark Prior lab? I was expecting him to turn things around. We saw what happened last season with Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney. Anything is possible.

Well, the complete opposite has happened. He’s managed to get worse. Not just slightly worse. Significantly worse.

Syndergaard had yet another rough outing on Friday night. He allowed six runs in six innings while allowing eight hits. His ERA on the season is now 6.27. If he had just a few more innings to qualify, that would be the second worst in all of baseball.

“It’s hard to go out there with the weapons I used to have being taken away from me,” he said following the game on SNLA. “The ones I’m possessing right now aren’t enough to successfully battle a team like that.”

If you take awat his first outing from the season, the numbers have been even worse. Syndergaard began his season on a high note, allowing only one run in six innings. Since then, it’s all gone downhill.

Since April 8, here is where Syndergaard ranks among 89 qualified starters.

• 6.97 ERA (86th)

• .314 OPP AVG (88th)

• 27 strikeouts (88th)

Yeah, it hasn’t been pretty. He’s been arguably the worst starting pitcher in all of baseball. Opponents are enjoying batting practice against him while his strikeout rate is nearly the worst in all of baseball.

So, what can the Dodgers do? There’s only one answer.

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