Mets Daddy – Personally, I’ve mulled every possible angle of this trade including just how much of an overpay this was, and who would’ve been the prospects send to Toronto if the Mets didn’t push for cash back in the deal. In the end, I keep coming back to the Mets next competing window, assuming they’re currently in one now. As bizarre as this may sound, the Mets were really well poised to be real contenders around 2022 (give or take a year).
The Mets had a truly impressive collection of high end talent who were going to be ready to burst onto the scene around that time: Kelenic, Mauricio, Alvarez, Santana, Newton, Vientos, SWR, Szapucki, and more. A significant chunk of that is gone for a 36 year old second baseman owed $100 million, a closer with bone spurs in his pitching elbow, a bench bat without a position, and now, a legitimate number two starter who is under team control for just the 2020 season.
As a fan, you’re willing to trade away all the risk which comes with relying on mostly teenage talent three years away if it means winning now. Well, the Mets aren’t winning now, and with how callously they’re handling the farm now, you wonder when they’re going to be in a position to win again.
Rob Piersall – The Mets acquiring Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays, like many others, caught me by surprise. At first, seeing the Mets part ways with promising young talent in pitchers Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson left me with a sense of abject disappointment and confusion. While I am still upset the Mets continue to weaken their farm system and trade valuable prospects, I am also looking forward to seeing what Stroman brings to the table. From video and articles I’ve read, the Long Island native appears to be a fierce competitor with a giant personality and a force in the clubhouse. However, I also want to see what the Mets do by Wednesday at 4 p.m. so I can fully decide how I feel about this trade. We are sure to see several more moving parts, including the possible trades of Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler.
My only rationale for the team making this deal is that now that they have acquired Stroman, they have commandeered the pitching trade market and can now maximize a return on some of their bigger names. It should be an interesting, and stressful, next couple of days.
Mojo Hill – I’m not a fan of this deal. Mainly, I’m upset about losing Woods Richardson, who was just 18 but was already striking batters out at a high rate in High-A. I also had high hopes for Kay, who has a lower ceiling but was still close to being Major League ready, with his high-spin rate left-handed curveball. For just a little over a year of a pitcher who I honestly believe is overrated, I believe it was too much. However, I might be able to live with it if the Mets can work out an extension for Stroman, while also keeping their rotation intact by keeping Syndergaard and hopefully extending Wheeler as well. If the Mets aren’t able to extend Stroman or if they don’t plan to, then this was yet another misguided and short-sighted trade by a GM who is really letting his inexperience shine brightly.
Josh Finkelstein – I think the Marcus Stroman deal was a pretty curious one to say the least. I worry about the direction of this team after it and I’m nervous about Brodie Van Wagenen’s complete disregard for his own farm system. That being said, my grade on this team overall is inconclusive until I see what else the team does by the deadline on July 31. I like the addition of Stroman as a player despite him being a contact first pitcher with a very poor Mets defense behind him now. Until the deadline is over, though, I’m not ready to completely judge.
Jack Ramsey – It’s always hard to evaluate trades rationally right when they happen. There’s a lot of moving parts. But after taking a step back, there’s several reasons why trading for Stroman made a lot of sense. First, he fits into the 2020 rotation very well. Whether as a number 2 or 3, he provides immediate comfort to an otherwise questionable future. Secondly, it gives the Mets the ability to move Syndergaard if someone gets desperate and overpays for him. Third, the Mets can try to win now. They’re only six games out in the loss column for the second NL Wild Card spot, and the Mets are no strangers to improbable Wild Card runs, see 2016. The prospect return doesn’t bother me; you give up good players to get good players. Anthony Kay likely never reaches a Marcus Stroman level, or becomes a good reliever. Simeon Woods Richardson is a good prospect, but has a lot of mileage on an 18 year old elbow already. He went straight from high-school to short season to full season. Most high-school drafted pitchers take the first spring of their pro careers off, but Richardson didn’t.
Overall, it’s hard to hate the Mets for going for it. They have solidified the front end of their 2020 rotation, but them selves in position to command a bidding war for Syndergaard, and now completely control the starting pitching market. Now, we wait and see what Van Wagenen and Co. do next…
Samantha Brown – While I am excited for Marcus Stroman to come home and be a Met, I am a bit concerned with who we gave up for him. The two prospects, Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson were very talented and seemed to be progressing nicely through the system. It seems too good to be true that the Mets will keep Syndergaard and sign Wheeler, giving them a pretty solid front of the rotation in 2020. It is difficult for me to form an opinion on the trade until I know exactly what the Mets’ next move is. If the team keeps Noah Syndergaard, they can hold off extending him for a while and still control him for the next two years. If you trade him now, then I assume the team is then forced to sign both Stroman and Wheeler to a couple of very costly extensions. However, if the Mets trade Wheeler, they will still have almost a fully formed rotation for not only the rest of this season, but next year as well. If they trade Syndergaard I will be frustrated, but if they trade Wheeler, I can get behind it. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about getting Stroman. I like his energy and competitive nature, but I am concerned about his ground ball rate, which requires a top-notch defense that the Mets don’t really have. That could be countered by the fact that Stroman will now pitch in Citi Field, a pitchers’ ballpark, and in the NL East versus the AL East. The bottom line is, my opinion can and will change depending on the team’s next move. Let’s hope it’s a good one.
Michelle Ioannou – The one word I can think of right now is intrigue. What do the Mets plan on doing next? I still can’t fully say whether I like or dislike this move, and I’m really not sure anyone can without knowing what other moves come and how this ends up working out. The Mets keep depleting their farm system. Stroman is a good pitcher — I am not going to argue that. But he’ll be gone after next season. Is it worth it? This seems like a quick fix of sorts. It looks like the Mets are looking at the short term rather than the long-term and in my opinion, they should be looking at more of the long-term.
Roberto Correa – I could tell you how I feel about this move if I knew the team’s thinking moving forward. There are many conditions that can change exactly how to feel about it. If the Mets retain Noah Syndergaard and extend Wheeler and/or Stroman: they are going for it. It leaves 2020 searching for a center fielder and some bullpen help. The team is not in large disrepair. In this case, I love the trade.
If the Mets trade Noah Syndergaard: The trade makes no sense. Rumors have it that the Mets asking price is a pitcher that is already ML ready, even if they are only a 3 or 4 starter, as well as some top prospects. Even if that is the case, that doesn’t put the 2020 Mets, and beyond, above the competition.
Nevertheless, as Jeff Passan wrote, the Mets “hijacked the Market.” They own three of the most coveted starting pitching and trade deadline options. How I ultimately feel depends on those returns.
The Mets gave up Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson in this deal. While I am fine with trading Kay, including Woods Richardson makes this a bit tougher to swallow. Kay is a projected back-end starter with a phenomenal curveball. But Richardson has a ceiling of mid-rotation starter and the 18-year-old earned his promotion to St. Lucie and is on track to be one of the youngest starting pitchers in the majors, if he continues his current path. Nevertheless, Stroman is an excellent talent, and one that could push the Mets forward.
Van Wagenen said that he wanted to win in 2019, and beyond. We didn’t get to see that so far in 2019, and we dont see them setting up the “beyond” aspect of this just yet either.
Tim Ryder – I’m on board with the Stroman deal. While wishing him the best in his career, I’m comfortable moving on from Anthony Kay. Simeon Woods-Richardson might end up being a tough loss for the organization, but sacrifices must be made for the greater good. I guess.. I love how the Mets set the market. I just hope Brodie’s next move(s) will benefit from this risk.
Ryan Finkelstein– In my opinion, it is very hard to analyze the Marcus Stroman trade until we see what is next. I don’t believe the Mets got fleeced by any means in the trade and think that the package they gave was a rather fair one for Stroman’s value on the market. With that being said, the only way this move makes sense is if the notion that the Mets have cornered the market on starting pitching is correct and they can now receive an abundance of prospect in return for any combination of Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Jason Vargas.
Since it appears that Madison Bumgarner and Trevor Bauer are likely off the market, the only real alternative options to Mets starting pitching are left-handers Matt Boyd, Mike Minor and Robbie Ray. While those pitchers all have value, I don’t believe any present playoff teams with a higher ceiling to dominate in October than what the Mets have in Syndergaard and Wheeler. If the Mets can cash in on that, than this deal could be looked back on as a great one. But I am not going to trust Brodie and co. to pull this off until I see another trade finalized.
Logan Barer – The more I look at the deal, the more I am intrigued by it. On the surface, I was as surprised as anyone that they gave up so much talent for Stroman. I’ve always wanted him on the Mets because of the hometown aspect, but not for our top two pitching prospects. However, then I realized it left the Mets with the best five-man rotation in baseball for this season, AND a great 1-4 for next season.
The most compelling part of the trade, however, is that it completely hijacked the starting pitching market as the deadline approaches. The Mets now have the three best SP trade targets by far, so any team looking for a big starter must call BVW. It remains to be seen if that will work, or if it will be worth trading both Kay and Woods Richardson, but it is certainly intriguing. Bottom line, the next couple days will determine how good this trade is.
Joe D. – What the hell are we doing? Can someone please explain to me exactly what Brodie’s short and long term goals are for this franchise? Because quite frankly, he appears to be so out of his element and is just a big fish flailing in shallow waters.
First let me make something very clear; I am a huge fan of Marcus Stroman. My initial negative reaction to the deal is based in the probability that there’s no way the Mets can afford to sign him to an extension which essentially renders Stroman to a rental for 2020. You want to give up a pair of minor leaguers for him, great… But did we have to give up our top two pitching prospects? Heck, maybe one – but both??? For a rental???
Brodie justified it by saying the deal allows them to go for that second wild card because they are not waving the white flag on the 2019 season. That’s all fine and dandy, great lets go for it.
But then, less than 8 hours later, we trade Jason Vargas to the Phillies for some non-prospect who will never see the light of day in the major leagues – essentially just a salary dump?
How does giving the Phillies a veteran starter with league average performance help us get that second wild card, when the Phillies are the team we are trying to catch? We just gave them that No. 4 starter that they’ve been desperate for and all for the cost of a dozen donuts…. day old donuts. So I’ll ask again, what the hell are we doing here? What’s the vision? What’s the plan?
The Mets still have until tomorrow to wheel and deal, so I guess I’ll just bide my time and maybe then I’ll be able to figure out what this Agent-Turned-GM is doing. But I’m not counting on that.
