All-Star Pitcher Begins Comeback Attempt With Scoreless Outing

As Noah Syndergaard looks to revive his career, he's starting at square one.

Syndergaard, 34, pitched in his first game of the 2025 season on Saturday in the Arizona Complex League, which features rosters typically consisting of rookies and players in the early stages of their professional careers.

Across three scoreless innings, he allowed just one hit while striking out two batters and walking none. The 6-foot-6 right-hander struck out the first batter he faced in three pitches, and he retired the first four batters before allowing his lone single.

The White Sox signed Syndergaard, a 2016 All-Star with the Mets, to a minor league contract on Tuesday, and he reported to the complex in Glendale, Ariz. He hasn't pitched in the major leagues since 2023 with the Cleveland Guardians.

"Excited about that," Venable said. "He’s got some work to do. He’ll go to Arizona. We’ll get him stretched out and a couple of things that I know we’ve highlighted we want to work on with him and see where we are at."

"He has tried to make a lot of adjustments over the last couple years and kind of big changes and has really been searching. So I think, you know, without knowing that the history of all that is, I think for us, it's just gonna be about simplifying his mix and getting him downhill and just sinker, slider, just trying to keep it simple."

In 2015, Syndergaard finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting and helped the Mets reach the World Series. His best season came in 2016, when he recorded a 2.60 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP with 218 strikeouts and 43 walks across 183.2 innings.

Nicknamed "Thor," Syndergaard finished second among all pitchers with 6.0 wins above replacement that season, behind Miami's Jose Fernandez. But after four seasons with an ERA below 3.24, Syndergaard's performance began to dip in 2019, and injuries limited him during several seasons.

Here are the contract details, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Noah Syndergaard
White Sox

2025. Minor League contract for $30,000/mo.

$1,750,000 in Majors

Plus: $50,000 for 40ip; $100,000 each for 55ip; 75ip

Release clause (Opt out if not in majors) 8/1
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 24, 2025

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