CLEVELAND — Less than a week before the Major League Baseball trade deadline, the Guardians have made their first big move.
The team on Wednesday agreed to send shortstop Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard. ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers along with The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal were among the first to report the news.
Rosario, acquired by Cleveland from the New York Mets in the Francisco Lindor trade, has been the team's everyday shortstop since he arrived in the 2020-21 offseason, playing 388 games for the club in the past two and a half years. He was a key part of the Guards' 2022 American League Central Division championship squad, batting .283 with a league-leading nine triples along with 86 runs scored.
Speaking to the media Wednesday evening, Guardians President Chris Antonetti paid tribute to Rosario "for the teammate and player he's been since joining the organization." Besides his production on the field, the 27-year-old was well-liked in the clubhouse and also active in the community, particularly with the local Animal Protective League.
"His consistent effort, intensity on the bases, how much he cared about winning, the type of teammate that he was had an immense impact on our team over the last three years," Antonetti said. "[We] just have a great deal of gratitude for Amed and the impact he's had here."
For 2023, Rosario is hitting .265 with three home runs, 40 RBIs, and six triples, and a .675 OPS and 89 OPS+. Perhaps one of the reasons he became expendable relates to the fact that while he has been average to slightly below average, at best, at the plate, his -0.3 wins above replacement (bWAR) points to how far his defense has fallen this year.
According to defensive metrics, Rosario is having the worse defensive season of his career, putting him towards the bottom of the league in that department among starting shortstops. His 16 defensive runs allowed actually put him in the basement among MLB infielders, and are a far cry from his career-high six defensive runs saves a season ago.
"Defensively, he just wasn't able to make the progress we were [hoping] to see him make," Antonetti acknowledged about Rosario's struggles in the field. "We continued to hope it would improve, but in the end, we got to the point where we felt that this made sense for us."
A big reason the trade makes sense is Cleveland's glut of middle infield prospects, some of which are ranked among the best in baseball. Gabriel Arias has shown flashes as the team's utility man since opening day, and Tyler Freeman is hitting a solid .295 in limited playing time. In addition, Brayan Rocchio may be the best of the lot, playing four games for the Guardians earlier this year while currently tearing it up both at the plate and in the field for Triple-A Columbus.
In the end, with potential better options available in-house and a contract set to expire in the offseason, Rosario became expendable. For his part, Antonetti seemed excited about the new opportunities for Arias and Freeman.
"Exactly how we align our infield will take some time to work through," he said, deferring those decisions to manager Terry Francona. "But we feel like we have two good options in the middle infield with both Tyler and Gabby complementing Andrés [Giménez]."
As for the new addition, Syndergaard has had an up-and-down career of late. The right-hander exploded onto the major league scene early in his career with the Mets, finishing fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2015 along with an All-Star appearance in 2016. Through his first five seasons, he amassed a 47-30 record along with a 3.31 ERA and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
But since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020, Syndergaard's fortunes have taken a turn for the worse, largely due to a dip in velocity. Even after a respectable 3.94 ERA in 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies, his numbers have ballooned this year for the Dodgers, as he is currently 1-4 with a whipping 7.16 ERA. LA placed Syndergaard on the injured list on June 8 after he struggled with a blister issue and he has not appeared in a big league game since, although he has shown promise in a pair of recent rehab starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
According to Antonetti, Syndergaard will be with the Guardians Thursday on their road trip in Chicago, where he will throw a bullpen session before team officials determine "next steps." He added Syndergaard likely won't start Friday against the White Sox (a date Cleveland has yet to name a starter for), but seemed confident he would be ready to pitch "shortly after that."
"Our hope is that we continue to partner with Noah and help him contribute in the major league level at the starting rotation," Antonetti added, noting the move will help bolster pitching depth with Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie currently out with their own injuries.
In the meantime, Rosario's exit creates an open spot on the active roster. That will be filled by outfielder Oscar Gonzalez, who after a good rookie campaign was sent back to the minors following a rough April that saw him hit just .192. In 78 games for Columbus, he is slashing .278/.320/.479 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs.
"He continued to work daily to improve all aspects of his game," Antonetti said. "He has had success down there offensively, especially against left-handed pitching, and we're hopeful that the regular playing time he had down there will benefit him as he gets another major league opportunity up here."