Dodgers News: Noah Syndergaard Getting a Short Break From the Rotation
Dave Roberts finally revealed the real reason Gavin Stone was called up. It was to buy some time for Noah Syndergaard to work on some things. Syndergaard would have originally been set up to pitch against the Padres in this weekend’s series in San Diego. Instead, it’s not exactly clear when he’ll make his next start.
That will mostly depend on the plan with rookie Gavin Stone, which wasn’t clear when the lights went off at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
But it looks like the Dodgers do want to ideally give Syndergaard more than just one start off. Here’s part of the exchange Doc had with reporters.
“[We’re] giving Noah some extra time. We just wanted to give him a reset.”
Via SportsNet LA
“There are some mechanical things that we just want to continue to work through. I think that giving him a couple days of potential bullpens in between the start I think will allow him that reset. He pitched fine his last turn, which I think was his best in a handful of starts. But there’s certainly more in there and Noah expects more in there from himself too.”
It’s been a struggle for Syndergaard, especially of late. While he did just pick up his first win as a Dodger, he also has 3 losses and a 6.32 ERA. He’s also been worse on the road than at home and has been mostly bad against the Padres in his career (5 GS, 1-3, 4.65 ERA). So, LA rearranging the starting rotation is as much to have Thor miss the series in San Diego as it is to put the best three out there against the Pads.
As things are laid out now, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Julio Urias will pitch in that order and most likely be followed by Tony Gonsolin on Monday in Milwaukee. The rookie Stone would be on one extra day of rest if he were to remain in the rotation and take his next turn in Milwaukee.
Stone didn’t say what comes next for him and Roberts said the team would discuss it and have a plan before the start of the San Diego series.
Can Noah Syndergaard be Fixed?
That’s the $13 million question. He signed here due in part to the Dodgers’ track record of revitalizing pitchers’ careers. All throughout spring training, he spoke about getting back to being the Syndergaard of old — the one that could routinely throw fastballs in the high 90s. Instead, his velocity has actually trended downward a bit as the season has progressed. So to has his ability to put hitters away as evidenced by his career-worst 15.2 K%.
So he’s back in the lab with a pen and a pad along with Mark Prior, Rob Hill and company and hoping to unlock something that gets him back on track for the next four months of baseball.
