The Pirates are among multiple teams that have expre sed interest in free agent righty , . According to Murray, both Syndergaard and right-hander threw a bullpen se sion in front of teams today. While its unclear which teams are involved in Lorenzens market, Pittsburgh is apparently considering Syndergaard as a rebound target. Hell certainly settle for a one-year contract for a third straight offseason. After locking in a $21MM guarantee from the Angels in 2021-22 and a $13MM pact from the Dodgers last winter, hes looking at a cheaper deal this time around. Thats Spud Webb Jersey a reflection of Syndergaards trouble finding his form since he returned from Tommy John surgery. He underwent the elbow procedure in March 2020, e sentially wiping out two seasons. During his first year back, he turned in a 3.94 ERA over 25 appearances for the Halos. While thats decent run prevention, the righty wasnt nearly as overpowering as hed been before the surgery. He fanned just 16.8% of opposing hitters, nearly eight percentage points below his 2019 mark. The Dodgers hoped that Syndergaard would rediscover that level in his second year after surgery. Instead, the lack of mi sed bats caught up to him. He was tagged for a 7.16 ERA over 12 starts in Los Angeles. The Dodgers placed him on the injured list and flipped him to the Guardians in a change-of-scenery swap that sent infielder to Southern California. Things didnt get much better in Cleveland. Syndergaard returned from the IL to start six games. He pitched to a 5.40 ERA while allowing 10 home runs in 33 1/3 innings. The Guardians released him at the end of August. He didnt sign elsewhere and finished his year with a 6.50 ERA acro s 88 2/3 frames. His 14.3% strikeout percentage and 8.2% swinging strike rate were each personal lows, while he allowed a career-worst 2.23 home runs per nine innings. Once one of the sports hardest throwers, the righty has lost a lot of velocity in recent seasons. His fastball was down around 92 MPH on average last year. Syndergaard is still just 31 years old, so it stands to reason some clubs have optimism about helping him rediscover some of that lost arm speed. He has excellent control and has walked fewer than 6% of opposing hitters in each of the past two seasons. If he can even find the 93-94 MPH he brandished in 2022, hed be a potential back-of-the-rotation starter. The Pirates would benefit from that kind of production. Pittsburghs rotation is led by . Theyve already targeted and as rebound fliers, while players like , , and could vie for back-end jobs. Pittsburghs signing of pushes their projected player payroll to roughly $79MM, above last years $73MM Opening Day figure. Its unclear how much budgetary room remains at the front offices disposal. Treveon Graham Jersey