Noah Syndergaard hasn't pitched at all since 2023.
Thor's hammer looks to be coming back.
The Chicago White Sox signed former All-Star right-hander Noah Syndergaard to a minor-league deal on Tuesday. Syndergaard, 32, is hoping to recapture some of the magic that led him to consideration as one of the game's best young pitchers in the late 2010s.
But Tommy John surgery knocked him from the path in 2020 and he struggled the last time he pitched in the majors in 2023 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians. That season, Syndergaard carried a 6.50 ERA and 1.367 WHIP over 18 starts between the two teams. He hasn't pitched organized ball since.
Nicknamed "Thor" because of his Scandanavian last name and, at the time, long, blond hair, Syndergaard rated as high as the No. 9 prospect in baseball in 2015. He finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting that season and finished eighth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2016 by pitching to a 2.60 ERA with 218 strikeouts in 183 2/3 innings.
Even after that, Syndergaard finished the 2018 and 2019 seasons with a 3.7 bWAR and a 2.1 bWAR before requiring Tommy John surgery in March 2020.
Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Syndergaard still may not return to the big leagues. He is set to report to Chicago's spring training facility in Arizona to get back up to physical strength and stamina before resuming his career in the minor leagues.
Chicago's hope is that Syndergaard could provide a stabilizing force for a young team in a rebuild. Three of their five starting pitchers are 25 or younger and the White Sox staff carries a surprisingly good 4.23 ERA in 2025, good for 22nd in baseball, just one spot behind the Dodgers.
The White Sox enter Tuesday with the worst record in the American League, 24 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.
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