White Sox sign Thor to Minors deal
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CHICAGO -- Noah Syndergaard could be on his way back to the big leagues.
The 32-year-old right-hander and 2016 National League All-Star signed a Minor League deal with the White Sox on Tuesday. He is at the club's Camelback Ranch complex in Glendale, Ariz.
“All I know is that he has tried to make a lot of adjustments over the last couple years,” White Sox manager Will Venable said prior to Tuesday night’s contest against the Diamondbacks at Rate Field. “Kind of big changes and has really been searching.
“Without knowing what the history of all that is, I think for us, it's just going to be about simplifying his mix and getting him downhill and just sinker, slider, just trying to keep it simple. So what the exact plan for that is, or how he looks coming in, I don't know.”
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Syndergaard, an eight-year MLB veteran most known for his time as a young Mets hurler, last pitched in the Majors in 2023, when he went 2-6 with a 6.50 ERA in 18 starts for the Dodgers and Guardians. That followed a string of injury-plagued and disappointing seasons that included his last year with the Mets (2021) and stints in '22 with the Angels and Phillies.
His best season came with the Mets in 2016, when he went 14-9 with a 2.60 ERA, earned an All-Star berth and finished eighth in the NL Cy Young voting. For his career, Syndergaard is 59-47 with a 3.71 ERA.
The White Sox had interest in Syndergaard via the trade route in the past, but that was years ago under a different regime. Syndergaard is another veteran presence who could possibly help Chicago’s young starters down the stretch, as they approach single-season innings highs.
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Right-hander Adrian Houser was signed as a free agent on May 20, followed by left-hander Tyler Alexander joining the club on June 8 and right-hander Aaron Civale was acquired in a trade with Milwaukee for Andrew Vaughn on June 13. Houser and Civale already have joined the White Sox rotation, while Alexander has served as a long reliever, helping to balance the overall workload. All three could be trade candidates as the July 31 Trade Deadline approaches.
“It’s huge for us to be able to survive the season,” Venable said of adding veteran arms. “We are going to need a lot of help and to be able to bring in veteran guys who can navigate a Major League game even without their best stuff. We’ve seen it with the veteran guys we have brought in.
“Even without their best stuff, they have that experience to get through traffic. They know how to manage a game, manage damage. Everything they bring on the field and then you have the example they are setting, the professionalism off the field helping our young starters develop.”
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As a side note, Venable is 3-for-6 lifetime against Syndergaard, with one triple, two RBIs and two strikeouts.
“I'm shocked I put the ball in play against him at all, so I'll take it,” Venable said smiling. “Excited about that. He’s got some work to do.
“He’ll go to Arizona. We’ll get him stretched out and a couple of things that I know we’ve highlighted we want to work on with him and see where we are at.”