Dodgers get Guardians’ Rosario for Syndergaard

The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired shortstop Amed Rosario in a commerce Wednesday that noticed them ship right-hander Noah Syndergaard to the Cleveland Guardians.

Rosario, 27, joins a Dodgers crew whose .629 OPS at shortstop is the fifth worst in baseball and that only a day in the past traded for super-utilityman Enrique Hernández, who had been the Boston Crimson Sox’s shortstop.

Syndergaard, 30, will be part of the Guardians in Chicago on Thursday for the opener of a four-game sequence, nevertheless it’s not clear when he’ll make his debut, in response to Chris Antonetti, Cleveland’s president of baseball operations. He’s rehabbing at Triple-A after hitting the injured listing in early June due to a blister on his proper index finger.

After signing a one-year, $13 million contract with the Dodgers within the offseason, Syndergaard posted a 7.16 ERA over a dozen begins, and the Dodgers not envisioned a long-term place for him inside what stays a needy rotation.

The Dodgers’ hope is for Rosario, who’s hitting .265/.306/.369 with three residence runs this season, to seize a few of his earlier offensive and defensive magic. Final 12 months, he registered greater than 4 wins above substitute, and he mentioned a long-term contract extension with the Guardians earlier than agreeing to a $7.8 million wage in arbitration.

Rosario is because of hit free company this winter and will probably be among the many youngest gamers within the class. He made his debut with the New York Mets at age 21 and was traded to Cleveland in 2021 as a part of the four-player package deal for shortstop Francisco Lindor and starter Carlos Carrasco.

Cleveland might change Rosario with younger infielders Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias, and likewise might flip to 22-year-old Brayan Rocchio, who made his main league debut earlier this season and is at present hitting .295/.385/.419 at Triple-A.

“We felt that this made sense for us, and now’s the proper time to provide Gabby and Tyler some extra alternatives,” Antonetti mentioned. “We additionally needed to be respectful to Amed. We acknowledge his place on our crew and as a veteran chief and his expectations of himself and transitioning him to a lesser position would had an affect on him and the crew and we have been very conscious about doing that.”

Cleveland’s beleaguered rotation might get a lift from Syndergaard, the one-time All-Star who will be part of his fourth crew in two seasons after getting dealt from the Los Angeles Angels to the Philadelphia Phillies on the commerce deadline final 12 months. Three of the Guardians’ prime starters — ace Shane Bieber and right-handers Triston McKenzie and Cal Quantrill — are on the injured listing, and the crew at present has three rookies (Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen) beginning alongside veteran Aaron Civale.

The Guardians’ pitching nonetheless has been among the many crew’s strengths, with a 4.07 starters ERA that ranks tenth within the main leagues. Cleveland might proceed to pursue a bat to boost an offense whose 420 runs are twenty fifth within the main leagues.

ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez and The Related Press contributed to this report.