Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the New York Mets are considering the option of trading Noah Syndergaard and then extending Zack Wheeler.
Rival evaluators say they believe that the Mets are fully intent on dealing Syndergaard before the deadline according to a report by Buster Olney of ESPN.
This is a very interesting scenario that could play out due to the fact that Wheeler is set to hit free agency this offseason while Syndergaard has two years of control after this one via arbitration.
Presumably, the rationale is that Syndergaard would obtain a larger return given his control and his extremely strong track record, despite a mediocre 2019 season thus far.
For his career, the 26-year-old is 44-27 with a 3.21 ERA, 2.85 FIP, and 1.158 WHIP. He also has a K/9 rate of 9.8 and a BB/9 rate of 2.1.
Meanwhile, Wheeler is 39-36 with a 3.88 ERA, 3.77 FIP, and 1.302 WHIP. His K/9 rate is 8.8 as compared to 3.4 BB/9 for his career.
Another factor that might be considered is that Wheeler is set to make only one more start before the deadline after dealing with right shoulder fatigue for the past two weeks. That, in turn, could suppress his value unless his start on Friday turns out to be an absolute gem in front of scouts.
Otherwise, the Mets might very well be looking at acquiring a pair of mid-level prospects for the 29-year-old pending free agent as compared to a package including at least one top-tier prospect and then more for Syndergaard.
Baseball America ranked the Mets farm system 26th in all of baseball, suggesting the organization could very much reinforcements, especially in the upper levels of the minors where Andres Gimenez, David Peterson, and Anthony Kay currently are the only notable players likely capable of contributing by this point next year.
Wheeler is 6-6 on the year with a 4.69 ERA, 3.67 FIP, and 1.277 WHIP in 19 starts (119 innings). He has a career-high 9.8 K/9 as compared to a career-low 2.6 BB/9.
Syndergaard is 7-5 this season with a 4.33 ERA, 3.64 FIP, and 1.263 WHIP. He has 9.0 K/9 as compared to 2.6 BB/9.
While, yes, Syndergaard is having the worst year of his career in many respects, the previously mentioned team control would likely set him up to still acquire a significantly more hefty package if the Mets were to choose to deal him. That being said, the Mets could be selling low on Syndergaard if they were to deal him before the July 31 Trade Deadline.
If the Mets do indeed choose to trade Syndergaard instead of Wheeler, the former might have made his last start in a Mets uniform on Wednesday as he would not pitch again until Tuesday, only one day before the deadline.
The Mets also have the option of keeping Wheeler at the deadline and obviously either extend him or give him a qualifying offer this offseason.
