The New York Mets suffered their first major loss of the offseason this afternoon. Noah Syndergaard, who the Mets tendered a qualifying offer to ten days ago, is leaving New York to sign a one-year deal worth $21 million, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.
BREAKING: Right-hander Noah Syndergaard and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $21 million deal, pending physical, sources tell ESPN.
The Angels bolster their staff with the highest-upside arm on the market — and pay a heavy price, plus a second-rounder.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 16, 2021
Syndergaard missed most of the past two seasons with the Mets after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2020, returning to toss two innings at the end of last season. At the time, Syndergaard indicated he would be open to returning to New York and would be “grateful” to receive the qualifying offer. That tender would have guaranteed Syndergaard $18.4 million, but he rejected it after receiving another $2.6 million guaranteed from the Angels.
The Mets will recoup a second-round draft pick for Syndergaard but now have another big hole in their rotation to fill. Most experts assumed that Syndergaard would accept the QO and be the Mets’ No. 2 starter, but now new GM Billy Eppler will have a huge hole to fill instead.
The Mets technically have five starters under contract but little reliability in terms of health since every one of them outside of Tylor Megill missed time with injuries in 2021. Retaining Marcus Stroman figures to become a higher priority for the Mets, who will also need to add another starter and more hitters as well. Re-allocating the $18.4 million they had set aside for Syndergaard will help but the Mets undoubtedly would rather have had Syndergaard in their rotation.
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