The trade: The Philadelphia Phillies acquired RHP Noah Syndergaard from the Los Angeles Angels for OF Mickey Moniak and OF Jadiel Sanchez.
Syndergaard is not the pitcher you may remember from his Mets heyday, when he earned the "Thor" nickname due to his long hair, intimidating presence and triple-digit fastball. He still has the hair, but the 100-mph fastball is now a 94-mph sinker, reduced through injuries that cost him most of the 2017 season and Tommy John surgery that cost him almost all of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
How much does the move help the Phillies' rotation? Let's grade the deal.
This season, 111 pitchers have thrown at least 75 innings -- and Syndergaard is one of them, with 80 innings. He ranks just 83rd in strikeout rate and 74th in swing-and-miss rate. It's not exactly fair to call him a finesse pitcher, but he has become much more of a pitch-to-contact guy. The Angels have also been very cautious in his usage. Due to Shohei Ohtani's presence in the rotation, the Angels have gone with a six-man rotation, so Syndergaard hasn't pitched on four days of rest all season -- and only three of his 15 starts have come on five days.
