Seattle Mariners Should Pursue Noah Syndergaard in Free Agency

The Seattle Mariners are one of many teams that are in need of a starting pitcher. The good news, there are a few quality options to choose from. One that tops my Christmas wish list is Noah Syndergaard, or as some know him, Thor.

Thor is a fitting nickname for him as he is an intimidating presence on the mound. Standing 6’6″ and weighing around 245 lbs, he is one of the biggest pitchers you are going to find. He also has the long flowing hair that the god of thunder is known for.

Noah Syndergaard could be a surprise ace for the Mariners

Noah Syndergaard was once one of the top young arms in the game. In his first two seasons in the majors, he was dominant on the mound. Throwing 333.2 innings while having a 2.89 ERA and striking out 384 batters in that time. All at the age of 22 and 23. The next year he missed most of the year with a torn lat muscle in his throwing arm but came back the following year just as dominant. During his age 25, he posted a 3.03 ERA and struck out a batter every inning.

After a bit of a down year in 2019, having a 4.28 ERA, but he was still able to strike out a batter an inning. He also had a FIP of 3.60, so some of the blame needs to be put on a defense that didn’t help him out. He never got to pitch in 2020 and he only had two innings this year while recovering from his Tommy John surgery.  It remains to be seen if Noah Syndergaard can return to his previous stat line, as he has the makings of the top of the rotation guy.

Before Syndergaard got hurt, he had an average fastball of around 98 mph. He was one of the hardest throwing starting pitchers in baseball, and if his arm can get back to throwing that hard again and if he can stay healthy, that would put him in line for a major payday.

It may be hard for the Mariners to sign him without going big. He is getting a qualifying offer from the Mets and it does seem like he is the type of player to accept it. After not pitching for two years he is likely to take the 18.4 million dollar deal and try and prove that he is healthy for a big-time contract.

If Thor does turn down the offer it will most likely take a bit of money to bring him to Seattle. If I was running the show I would offer him a five-year deal in the 100 to 120 million dollar range. That would be around what his former teammate Zack Wheeler got a few years back. If he gets that much it would put him in line with other top free-agent pitchers like Robbie Ray.

I do expect him to take the one-year deal with the Mets and show that he is healthy. If he can prove he is back to full strength he would probably be looking at a 30+ million a year deal. But if he does turn it down, fingers crossed, I would love it if the Mariners could find a way to bring Noah Syndergaard to Seattle.