20) SP Noah Syndergaard – Rangers – Three years, $39 million
There are a lot of teams that could be looking for starting pitching this offseason. After numerous injuries that cost him all of 2020 and nearly all of 2021, Noah Syndergaard had a good season in 2022.
He had a 3.94 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) for the Angels and the eventual NL champion Phillies but he saw his strikeout rate plummet from 9+ strikeouts per nine innings to 6.3, which is a bit alarming.
He will still have a lot of suitors entering his age-30 season, though. The Angels and Phillies are among two of them but Syndergaard is from Mansfield, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas, so signing with the Rangers might be something of interest for both sides. The Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Red Sox, Padres, Twins, and Blue Jays could also look to sign him.
21) SP Sean Manaea – Cubs – Three years, $36 million
Sean Manaea spent last season with the Padres after spending six seasons with the Oakland A’s. He’s yet another starter who has had injury issues as 2021 is the only season he has had in the majors where he made 30 or more starts.
In 2022, he had a down year (4.96 ERA in 30 games/28 starts) so that will impact the market for him.
Manaea, who turns 31 in February, still could get a four-year deal but a three-year deal seems more likely. Manaea grew up in northwestern Indiana so either Chicago team could be a fit as well as much of the suitors that Syndergaard, Walker, and Taillon will have.