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White Sox Sign Noah Syndergaard To Minor League Deal

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4:05pm: Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, Syndergaard gets $30K per month in the minors. If he’s selected to the majors, he gets a base salary of $1.75MM, though that would presumably be prorated to account for the portion of the season that has already transpired. He can earn an extra $50K by logging 40 innings and $100K each for getting to 55 and 75 innings. He also has a release clause if he’s not in the majors prior to August 1st.

8:47am: The White Sox have signed former All-Star righty Noah Syndergaard to a minor league contract, per James Fegan of Sox Machine. The CAA client is headed to the team’s spring complex in Arizona to build up.

Syndergaard, 33 in August, hasn’t pitched in the majors since splitting the 2023 season between the Dodgers and Guardians. The former Mets star was one of the sport’s most promising young arms from 2015-19 before injuries derailed his career. Syndergaard posted a combined 3.31 ERA with a 26.4% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate in 716 innings over that five-year period but never got back on track after multiple arm injuries, most notably including Tommy John surgery.

The Angels signed Syndergaard post-surgery, shelling out a hefty $21MM on a one-year deal and forfeiting a draft pick — the Mets had issued him a qualifying offer — in hopes he’d recapture his ace form. He pitched more like a fourth starter with the Halos, logging a 3.83 ERA with a below-average strikeout rate and a heater that was down more than three miles per hour. They traded him to the Phillies for Mickey Moniak at the ’22 trade deadline, and he gave Philadelphia a similar performance.

A 2023 deal to join the Dodgers didn’t pan out, and L.A. swapped him out for another underperforming veteran (Amed Rosario) in a deadline deal with Cleveland that year. Syndergaard didn’t pitch well with either club and wound up being released by the Guardians about a month after the trade. He opted not to sign anywhere for the 2024 season despite rumored interest from the Padres and Pirates. Midway through last summer, it was reported that Syndergaard was setting his sights on a 2025 comeback. That’ll manifest in the form of an early-summer deal with a rebuilding White Sox club that can provide ample opportunity.

All told, Syndergaard has pitched only 225 1/3 innings in the majors since returning from Tommy John surgery. He’s pitched to a 4.99 ERA in that time with a 15.9% strikeout rate that’s nowhere close to his prior standards. Syndergaard averaged 98.6 mph on his fastball at peak, per Statcast, but has sat 93.2 mph post-surgery — including a 92.2 mph average between Cleveland and Los Angeles in 2023.

With the prevalence of Tommy John surgery in today’s sport, it’s easy to presume the surgery will be a 14-month (give or take) bump in the road for pitchers — one from which they’ll bounce back to full strength or something close to it. Syndergaard is a key reminder that such surgeries are major procedures that come with no promise of rebounding to full strength, or even an approximation of peak form. Hopefully, he can get back on track with the South Siders, but given his post-surgery performance and a big league layoff now approaching two calendar years, Syndergaard is more or less a risk-free lottery ticket for GM Chris Getz’s club.

Astros Select Jordan Weems

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The Astros announced to reporters, including Chandler Rome of The Athletic, that right-hander Jordan Weems has been selected to the roster. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow righty Shawn Dubin, who has landed on the 15-day injured list due to a right forearm strain. Outfielder Pedro León has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.

Dubin has thrown 20 1/3 innings for the Astros this year with a 1.33 earned run average. That’s a fairly misleading number, however, as he won’t be able to maintain a 99.1% strand rate forever. His 22.2% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are closer to average, hence his 3.76 FIP and 3.73 SIERA being closer to par as well. Per Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle, Dubin hopes the strain is minor and believes he can avoid surgery. He had an MRI yesterday which will presumably determine if his feelings are accurate or not.

For now, Weems will take his roster spot. The 32-year-old signed a minor league deal with Houston earlier this month. He has since tossed 11 1/3 innings over nine Triple-A appearances with a 3.97 ERA. His 19.6% strikeout rate and 11.8% walk rate in that time were both subpar figures but his 54.3% ground ball rate was quite strong.

That’s obviously a small sample of work to judge. Weems has a larger track record of major league pitching, mostly with the Nationals. He had a decent two-year run for Washington over 2022 and 2023, logging 94 1/3 innings over those two seasons with a 4.29 ERA. His 10.1% walk rate was a tad high but he also struck out 25.4% of batters faced.

Since then, his results have backed up. His ERA spiked to 6.70 last year, with his strikeout and walk rate each worsening to 17.9% and 12.2% respectively. He was outrighted off the roster during the season and became a free agent. He signed a minor league deal with Atlanta but was released after posting a 5.09 ERA in 17 2/3 Triple-A innings.

Weems will give the Astros a fresh arm with some major league experience on his track record. He is out of options, so he’ll effectively have to be designated for assignment if the club wants to remove him from the active roster at any point.

As for León, he started the season on the 15-day IL due to a left MCL sprain. He’s already been on the shelf more than 60 days, so he’s eligible for reinstatement at any time. He doesn’t appear close to a return, however. He started a rehab assignment in late May but was pulled off that after just five games.

Photo courtesy of Mike Lang, Imagn Images

Cardinals Claim Garrett Hampson, Designate Jose Barrero For Assignment

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The Cardinals announced that they have claimed infielder/outfielder Garrett Hampson off waivers from the Reds. Infielder/outfielder Jose Barrero has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Hampson, 30, joins his third team of the season and the sixth of his career. The increasingly well-traveled utilityman has taken 60 plate appearances between the D-backs and Reds but mustered only a .167/.310/.188 batting line in that time.

It’s not an impressive batting line, but Hampson has typically been known more for his speed and defensive versatility than his production in the batter’s box. Statcast pegs him in the 85th percentile of big leaguers in terms of average sprint speed, and Hampson has extensive experience at second base, shortstop and across all three outfield positions (mostly center). He’s also logged 121 big league innings at third base. In parts of eight major league seasons, Hampson is a .238/.301/.357 hitter.

It’s not the most exciting profile, but Hampson is faster and more versatile than Barrero, who has also struggled considerably at the plate in limited time with St. Louis. The former Reds top prospect has appeared in 22 games but tallied only 31 plate appearances, batting just .138/.194/.276. Barrero has played in parts of five major league seasons and batted .182/.238/.257 in 478 turns at the plate between the Reds and Cardinals.

Because he’s out of minor league options, Barrero couldn’t simply be sent down to Triple-A. He’d first need to clear waivers — which may be his ultimate destination now that he’s been designated for assignment. The Cards will have five days to find a trade partner before they have to put Barrero on waivers (a 48-hour process) in order to have his DFA resolved within the one-week maximum. He can, of course, be placed on waivers at any point between now and day five, if the team sees fit.

Barrero has had a big season in Triple-A this year, hitting .299/.396/.517 in 101 plate appearances. He’s a career .247/.324/.475 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons. Barrero has played primarily shortstop in his career but has logged more outfield time in recent years as Cincinnati and St. Louis both looked to expand his versatility.

Braves Sign John Brebbia To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed right-hander John Brebbia to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett and will give Atlanta some veteran non-roster depth.

Brebbia, 35, was just released by the Tigers last week. Detroit had signed him in the offseason to a one-year deal with a $2.75MM guarantee. Around an injured list stint for a triceps strain, he gave them 18 2/3 innings with a 7.71 earned run average. There was some bad luck in there, with his .339 batting average on balls in play and 56.6% strand rate both to the unfortunate side, but he also had a subpar 11.8% walk rate and middling 21.5% strikeout rate.

That performance prompted Detroit to move on but Atlanta has snatched him up, as they did almost a year ago. Brebbia was released by the White Sox in August of last year, after posting a 6.29 ERA for that club, and wound up on Atlanta’s roster for most of September. He had a solid enough 2.70 ERA, though in a small sample of 6 2/3 innings. He hit free agency after that and signed his aforementioned deal with the Tigers.

Though the past two seasons have been challenging, Brebbia has a lengthy track record of being an effective big league reliever. From 2017 to 2023, he logged 299 2/3 innings for the Cardinals and Giants with a 3.42 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. He earned two saves and 47 holds in that time. Even with his ERA spike last year, he still had strong strikeout and walk rates of 27.7% and 7.9%.

Atlanta’s bullpen has been middling this year. The relief corps as a whole has a 3.70 ERA, which puts them 14th in the majors. Joe Jiménez and Daysbel Hernández are each currently on the injured list. There’s no real risk on a minor league deal so signing Brebbia is a sensible addition.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Mets Reinstate Frankie Montas, Transfer Jesse Winker To 60-Day IL

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The Mets announced that right-hander Frankie Montas has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Chris Devenski was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding active roster move. He has enough service time where he can’t be optioned without his consent, so he has presumably agreed to be sent down. To open a 40-man spot for Montas, outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Montas, 32, will be making his debut as a Met when he starts tonight’s game. At the moment, it’s difficult to guess what sort of quality of performance he’ll be able to provide. He was diagnosed with a lat strain back in mid-February. He started a rehab assignment in late May but hasn’t looked sharp, allowing 25 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings over six minor league starts.

Teams generally care more about health than results on a rehab assignment but a 12.05 earned run average is going to cause some concern. It would be one thing if Montas started rough and had been getting sharper but that hasn’t been the case. He surrendered five earned runs in five innings in his most recent outing, with just two strikeouts. The prior outing had seen him allow eight earned runs without getting out of the second inning.

Even before this year, there were question marks with Montas. He had missed almost all of 2023 due to shoulder surgery. Back on the mound in 2024, his 4.84 ERA wasn’t strong. The Mets seemed to be banking on his late-season strikeout surge. He had struck out just 19% of batters faced with the Reds but then 28.7% of opponents following a trade to the Brewers. He then headed into free agency and secured a two-year, $34MM deal from the Mets, with equal salaries of $17MM and an opt-out halfway through.

That was a notable investment in a pitcher who hadn’t been at his best in a few years. The Mets are also paying a 110% tax on spending beyond the top competitive balance tax threshold this year, making it an even more significant expenditure which they have yet to receive any return on.

Despite that cash outlay, the righty’s recent struggles on his rehab assignment almost pushed him to the bullpen. However, the club’s rotation picture changed quickly in recent weeks. Not too long ago, it seemed the club had so much rotation depth that a Paul Blackburn trade was reportedly considered. But then both Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill hit the injured list in the span of a few days, opening rotation space for both Blackburn and Montas alongside David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Griffin Canning.

If everyone is healthy, another squeeze could be just over the horizon. Sean Manaea is also on the IL and just a bit behind Montas in his rehab process. He recently made his fourth rehab appearance, getting to 62 pitches over 5 1/3 innings. Montas is getting a rotation spot for now due to the club’s need and the fact that his 30-day rehab window was closing but there will be pressure on him to perform in order to keep that spot.

As for Winker, he landed on the IL on May 5th due to a right oblique strain. His 60-day count is retroactive to that initial IL placement, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in early July. He was initially given a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks but the Mets recently said that he is still multiple weeks away from starting a rehab assignment.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

A’s Release Dylan Floro

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The A’s have released veteran right-handed reliever Dylan Floro, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d been pitching with the Athletics’ Triple-A club in Las Vegas but is now back on the open market.

Floro, 34, has an ugly-looking 7.04 ERA in 15 1/3 innings with the top A’s affiliate, but that number is skewed by one nightmare outing where the Dodgers’ Triple-A club pummeled him for five runs without recording an out. That outing accounts for 42% of his runs allowed in 16 appearances. Floro’s 17.1% strikeout rate in Triple-A is clearly well below-average, but he’s still showing good command (7.1% walk rate).

There are red flags beyond the one poor outing. Floro’s 88.2 mph average fastball velocity is down from last year’s 89.4 mph mark and down considerably from the 92.4 mph he averaged in 2022-23. He’s also made a career out of inducing weak contact but has yielded a blazing 94.7 mph average exit velocity and surrendered a 60.4% hard-hit rate. Those are both alarming trends for the well-traveled righty.

Concerning as those numbers are, Floro has a nice track record in the majors, with a 3.49 ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate, 50.6% grounder rate, 32 saves and 53 holds in parts of nine MLB seasons. He posted a 3.80 ERA with a 17.2% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate in a combined 68 2/3 big league frames between the Nationals and D-backs last year, although his 2024 campaign was a tale of two seasons; Floro posted a 2.06 ERA in 52 1/3 innings with the Nats before being clobbered for a 9.37 ERA in 16 1/3 innings with Arizona.

Blue Jays Release Erik Swanson

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The Blue Jays have released reliever Erik Swanson, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams. Toronto designated him for assignment last Tuesday. Swanson has already gone unclaimed on waivers and is a free agent.

Swanson spent two-plus seasons with the Jays. Acquired from the Mariners in the Teoscar Hernández trade, the righty had an excellent first season north of the border. Swanson turned in a 2.97 ERA while leading the team with 29 holds across 66 2/3 innings in 2023. That followed a sterling 1.68 ERA showing in his final season with Seattle. He hasn’t maintained that production over the past couple seasons, at least in part due to injury.

The 31-year-old Swanson missed a couple weeks early last season with forearm inflammation. He wasn’t effective when he returned and spent a couple months on optional assignment to Triple-A Buffalo. He looked to be trending towards a non-tender until finding some positive momentum in the second half. Swanson was recalled not long after the All-Star Break and managed a 2.55 ERA with a .172 opponent batting average down the stretch.

Toronto retained Swanson on a $3MM arbitration salary. That would’ve been a bargain if he repeated his second half numbers. Injuries again intervened. Swanson missed the first two months battling a nerve issue in his throwing arm. He was activated on June 1 but allowed runs in four of his six appearances, including three-plus runs in each of his final two outings. His average fastball speed has dropped a tick to 92.9 MPH and he has given up nine runs with five walks and three strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.

The Jays will remain on the hook for the rest of Swanson’s salary. He wouldn’t cost a new team anything other than a roster spot. They’d pay only the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for any time he spends on the MLB roster, which would be subtracted from Toronto’s responsibility. His 2022-23 production will at least generate interest on minor league offers, and it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if another team is willing to plug him directly into the MLB bullpen for the league minimum.

Tyler Nevin Signs Two-Year Extension With NPB’s Seibu Lions

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The Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced that they have signed infielder Tyler Nevin to a two-year extension beginning in 2026. Salary figures were not included. “I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to my teammates, staff, and fans who have trusted me and supported me since the day I arrived in Japan,” Nevin said in a Japanese statement relayed by the team, per Google Translate. “I will strive to make the rest of the season even better and focus on the game in front of me. I can’t wait for the next two years. Awesome!”

Nevin, 28, signed with the Lions in January. His Japanese career has gotten out to a solid start through his first 68 games. His .269/.330/.379 batting line may not be overwhelming in a vacuum but actually translates to a 120 wRC+ in NPB this year. It seems that the club has been pleased enough with that performance to lock him up.

Considering the way Nevin’s career went before this year, it’s understandable that he would agree to be locked up. Broadly speaking, he had always hit in the minors but failed to do so in the majors. From 2022 to 2024, he stepped to the plate 639 times at the Triple-A level. He hit 26 home runs and drew walks at a 10.2% clip while only striking out 17.5% of the time. He had a combined batting line of .313/.391/.536 and a 137 wRC+.

That minor league performance got him a few major league looks from the Orioles, Tigers and Athletics, but he wasn’t able to do much with those chances. He got 591 big league plate appearances over the past few years with a .204/.299/.315 line and 81 wRC+. He exhausted his final option year in 2023, which put him into a fringe roster status. He spent 2024 bouncing on and off the Athletics’ roster, clearing waivers multiple times throughout the year. Finding regular playing time in the big leagues would have been difficult going forward.

Rather than spend another year grinding through the roster bubble lifestyle, he accepted a chance to head overseas and perhaps find some stability. Given that he’s having a decent year, he could have tried to parlay that into a return to North America in 2026. But there would have been no guarantee of that working out, so it’s easy to see the logic in him sticking with the Lions for another few years.

Though the salary figures haven’t been reported for this deal, North American players getting regular work in Japan often get paid in the vicinity of $1MM annually. That’s more than players in the minors in North America get and even more than pre-arbitration major leaguers. Whatever his salary is, Nevin will get a bit of cash and some job security for his age-29 and age-30 seasons. If he can make the most of that regular role, he could perhaps try to return to affiliated ball a few years from now or secure himself another deal to continue playing in Asia.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images

White Sox Outright Caleb Freeman

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White Sox right-hander Caleb Freeman went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte, reports James Fegan of Sox Machine. He doesn’t have either the three years of big league service time or the prior outright assignment needed to reject this assignment in favor of free agency, so Freeman will remain with the organization as a depth arm.

The 27-year-old Freeman made his big league debut with the South Siders this season, tossing 3 1/3 innings over the course of five appearances. He allowed a pair of runs on five hits (one homer) and a walk with three strikeouts. The Sox’ 15th-round pick in 2019, Freeman has pitched to a 2.93 ERA in a combined 27 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season — but has done so with an alarming 17.1% walk rate.

Command has been an issue for Freeman throughout his minor league tenure, but he’s also fanned 27% of his opponents in parts of six professional seasons. Freeman sits 95 mph with heater and pairs the pitch with an 82-83 mph curveball and a slider that sits 87-88 mph. It’s possible he’ll get another look with the Sox later this summer, particularly if the Sox wind up trading some of the more veteran members of their bullpen ahead of next month’s deadline.

Rangers Select Dane Dunning

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The Rangers announced that they have selected right-hander Dane Dunning to their roster. Fellow righty Caleb Boushley has been optioned as the corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster already had a vacancy.

The Rangers have been running a four-man rotation in recent weeks, having lost both Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle to the injured list. Behind starters Jacob deGrom, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker and Patrick Corbin, the club has had Boushley and Jacob Latz serving as multi-inning relievers. Leiter started yesterday and only lasted four innings, with Boushley getting the final four. The club lost on the road, meaning the bottom of the ninth didn’t need to be played.

Boushley likely wasn’t going to be available for a few days, so he’ll be swapped out. Corbin is taking the ball tonight but there’s likely going to be some sort of bullpen game tomorrow. The club then has deGrom likely to go on Wednesday with an off-day on Thursday and Eovaldi potentially returning after that. But in the meantime, they are still limping for a few more days and could need guys like Latz and Dunning to soak up some innings over the next few days.

Dunning, 30, has had some decent seasons for the Rangers but his results have backed up over the past year or so. He got bumped to the bullpen last year and has been bouncing off and on the roster this year. That’s due to the fact that he’s making a $2.66MM salary this year, which is preventing other clubs from claiming him off waivers. As a player with between three and five years of major league service time, he can reject an outright assignment but would have to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to do so. Twice this year, he has been passed through waivers and then accepted an outright assignment to Round Rock.

The club’s current pitching predicament will get him back to the majors yet again. He has just three big league innings pitched on the year, spending most of this time with Round Rock. For the Express, he has thrown 46 1/3 innings over 12 appearances with a 4.77 earned run average, 24.4% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate and 46.8% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images

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