The Philadelphia Phillies made a splash when they acquired starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard from the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the MLB trade deadline. In exchange, the Angels received outfielders Mickey Moniak and Jadiel Sanchez, with many deeming it a light return. Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski revealed why the club didn't offer a more prospect-laden package to the Angels for Thor, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic.
Phillies took on all of Noah Syndergaard's remaining salary, Dave Dombrowski said. About $7 million. That lessened the prospect package sent the other way. Just another way that being over luxury tax threshold becomes a benefit.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) August 2, 2022
Per Gelb, Dave Dombrowski said that the Phillies took on all of Noah Syndergaard's remaining salary. Doing so lessened the prospect load that the club had to offer up for the one-time All-Star.
That was good news for the Phillies, who didn't have the farm system ammunition that other teams in the starting pitcher market could have thrown at the Angels.
Philadelphia badly needed a starter as well, given the injuries and uncertainty behind their strong 1-2 punch of Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola at the top of the rotation. That they didn't have to part ways with any of their top prospects made the MLB trade deadline deal that much sweeter.
Syndergaard, 29, has pitched to a 3.83 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP across 80 innings. It's been a nice bounce-back year for the Texas native, who had missed the entire 2020 season and nearly all of last year due to Tommy John surgery.
Perhaps the fact that Syndergaard has yet to retain the velocity he had before the injury also played a part in the lower return.
Either way, the Phillies nabbed a much-needed impact arm in what turned out to be a busy MLB trade deadline day for the club.
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