As their division rivals run up offseason bills approaching $1 billion combined, the Dodgers on Wednesday added something the Padres and Giants couldn’t: a Norse god.
Noah Syndergaard might not be an actual mythical figure capable of controlling thunder and lightning. But he once resembled one on the pitching mound, and the Dodgers are banking $13 million in guaranteed salary (plus another $1.5 million in potential incentives) that their track record of accessing unlocked potential in overlooked arms can ring true yet again and help Thor rediscover the hammer that once made him among the best pitchers in the game.
On its own, this feels like a quintessential Dodgers move. The team needed starting pitching reinforcements after Tyler Anderson and Andrew Heaney left for the Angels and Rangers, respectively, this winter. Each of those players followed a path last season similar to what the team is hoping to replicate with Syndergaard in 2023.
