Arace: Cleveland Guardians trade for Noah Syndergaard? Meh. And USWNT tested in World Cup
The MLB trade deadline is 6 p.m. Tuesday. There hasn’t been a ton of action because the biggest name available, Los Angeles pitching ace/slugger Shohei Ohtani, has stood in the way − until Wednesday.
There are more buyers than sellers, and most buyers were hanging onto their trade pieces to see if they could get in the ballpark on a deal for Ohtani. Would he be the greatest rental of all time? The Angels are about to find out. They're the renters.
Wednesday, the Angels announced that Ohtani is off the market. The Angels are four games below the wild card line in the American League. They have apparently decided they’re going to go for it down the stretch in this, the last season they have Ohtani under contract. The Angels are now buyers.
Maybe the market will heat up now.
Noah Syndergaard bringing his busted hammer to Cleveland Guardians
Cleveland Guardians fans were among the few who took note that their team managed to swing a trade Wednesday. The earth did not shake.
The Guardians sent shortstop Amed Rosario to the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed pitcher Noah Syndergaard. Both of these players used to be somebody.
Rosario, 27, went to Cleveland in the Frankie Lindor blockbuster in 2021. He is a pending free agent. The Guardians have shortstops in their system and Rosario played himself out of the team’s plans. He’s hitting .265 and his underlying numbers are diving. Plus, his defensive game is devolving.
Guardians: 5 things to know about Cleveland trade acquisition, pitcher Noah Syndergaard
Syndergaard, 30, a former New York Mets teammate of Rosario’s, hasn’t been the same since he had Tommy John surgery in 2020. This season, he has an ERA of 7.16. and his velocity is approaching batting-practice range. Of late, he has been on rehab assignments with a blister problem.
The Dodgers thought they could fix Syndergaard. Now the Guardians, who need an arm, think they can fix Syndergaard. And the Dodgers, star-less at shortstop, think Rosario can help in a platoon and hit against lefties.
It’s a wash. A couple of players who weren’t going to be retained were swapped. The trade could have some upside for one team or the other or both. The Guardians got a chunk of cash out of the deal, as well.
We’ll see how the deadline plays out in the rest of the AL Central, which is wide open because it’s a terrible division. The Guardians are right there.
US getting tested in World Cup
The first Women’s World Cup was staged in 1991. The U.S. Women’s National Team has won four of the eight Cups, including the past two. Germany has won two, Norway and Japan one apiece.
When the draw for the 2023 World Cup was revealed in October, the group-stage game everyone circled was the Group E game pitting the U.S. against the Netherlands. Why? The Americans beat the Dutch 2-0 in the 2019 Cup final and, at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the Americans needed penalty kicks to beat the Dutch in the quarterfinals.
World Cup: USWNT can't rely on captain's fury for wins. Hopefully Lindsey Horan's grit rubs off
Wednesday night, they met again. As they did in their 3-0 victory over Vietnam in their first game of the group state, the Americans got off to a slow start – or, to put it another way, they got jumped by a very good Dutch team. But they came back and salvaged a 1-1 tie.
Unlike Vietnam, the Dutch didn’t back up the bus and pack the box. The Dutch tried to win the midfield game, and they had their success with that – but they were also prone to U.S. counterattacks, which can be vicious. With the U.S. trailing 1-0 at the half, Rose Lavelle entered the game and the field tilted. The U.S. tied the game off a set piece served up by Lavelle and finished with a header by Lindsey Horan. A potential game-winner off the foot of Alex Morgan was nullified on an offside call.
The rest of the world is catching up with the fitness level of America’s finest. The quest for a three-peat is not preordained. If the USWNT falls short in this quest, it won’t be a shock. But neither will it be a surprise if this excellent team wins it all again.
Coach Vlatko Andonovski has some work to do in fine-tuning the USWNT going forward, which is not a bad thing. The point is to peak in the knockout stage. But he will be criticized for leaving four subs on the bench against the Netherlands. His team is deep, and it is to his advantage to plumb his reserve.
The U.S. and the Netherlands are tied atop of Group E, each with a win and a draw with one more group-stage game remaining. The U.S. has a tiebreaker advantages on goals differential (3-1) and goals scored (4-2). In the last game of the group stage, it’ll be U.S.-Portugal and Netherlands-Vietnam. The games are on Tuesday.
More moves for Columbus Crew?
More moves for Crew?
Columbus Crew president/general manager Tim Bezbatchenko has been busy during the summer transfer window, which closes Wednesday. He has moved out goalkeeper Eloy Room and center back Milos Degenek and moved in center back Yevhen Cheberko and midfielder Julian Gressel.
Don’t be surprised if Bezbatchenko pushes another transaction under the wire.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Arace: Cleveland Guardians trade for Noah Syndergaard? Meh.
