When we were inundated with Noah Syndergaard trade rumors during last summer and lasting all through the last winter meetings, I wasn’t concerned. It seemed to be media driven hype, especially from one media member in particular. Within the last few weeks, we were hearing about names like Zack Wheeler while Syndergaard’s odds of being traded were decidedly lower.
As it turns out, it was merely the calm before the storm, as Syndergaard’s name has come up again. This wave might be of the tidal variety:
While the Mets aren’t soliciting offers for Syndergaard, multiple teams have contacted them to express interest, sources say. The cost for the right-hander would have to be high for the Mets to consider trading him.
The Padres are among the teams that have inquired about Syndergaard’s availability recently, sources told MLB.com on Wednesday. San Diego’s farm system, rich with high-end pitching, will allow the club to seriously pursue virtually any available starter this month. The Padres have been looking for a veteran starter since last offseason, when they had interest in Syndergaard, Corey Kluber and Marcus Stroman, among others.
Another team monitoring Syndergaard and fellow starter Zack Wheeler are the Brewers, sources said.
Since Jon Paul Morosi doesn’t do this for page clicks and Twitter likes, let’s explore this:
The Padres are interesting because we knew they wanted him last season as part of their rebuild when Syndergaard still had three years of team control left. Now, at only two games out of the wild card, the Padres can sell this trade as a way to get in the N.L. Wild Card game and still have two seasons of control left.
It’s time. pic.twitter.com/lQV1ESpwfF
— cook (@cook17) July 10, 2019
The Brewers and Astros being involved show a different level of interest in Syndergaard, a level that is much more about the present than it is about the future. The Brewers are in a crowded N.L. Central race and adding Syndergaard might make up the difference of one playoff win that kept them from the World Series last season. The Astros, meanwhile, are currently a perennial World Series contender and have the goods to give up to get Syndergaard, who might be the difference between a seven game loss to the Yankees and a second World Series championship.
The Mets, as it says in Morosi’s blurb above, are looking for a high price in return for the lottery ticket that has paid off in spades as part of the R.A. Dickey trade back in 2013. They should, as different clubs are interested in him for different reasons. I’m sure the case was the same last season. But last season the Mets had a measured GM who understood more than most the value of his, and others assets. The fool that sits in the chair now? Ask yourself if you believe that Von Monorail could get more for a 26-year-old in a down season than his predecessor did for a 37-year-old Cy Young award winner.
Maybe BVM will wait until that price is met. Or maybe he’ll be so anxious to make a deal to make up for his other failures so that he can bring it to Jeffy and say “Did I do good boss? Did I? Did I?”
https://giphy.com/gifs/liveblog-mdqKcELgojSmI
I’m a little more concerned this year than I was last season.
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