With rumors swirling of the Mets potentially having Noah Syndergaard on the trade block the right-hander battled through seven innings on Wednesday in a 7-2 loss to the Padres.
With a flurry of scouts on hand, the big blow to Syndergaard’s outing came when he allowed three runs in a third inning that featured two errors by Dominic Smith.
Syndergaard would settle down after the rough inning to throw four straight scoreless innings to close out his 109 pitch (73 strike) performance. He gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits, five walks, and struck out eight.
“It’s completely out of my control,” Syndergaard said after the game, “so I’m not going to waste much energy thinking about those things.”
Coincidentally, the team that has been tied the most to Syndergaard in trade rumors going back to the offseason has been his opponent on Wednesday night. Dennis Lin (Padres beat) and Tim Britton of The Athletic explored the possibility of a deal between the Padres and Mets earlier today.
The Padres are looking to add starting pitching as a team six games out a playoff spot this year. They’re also a franchise that has brought in the two big contracts of Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado in recent years with the intention of contending in the near-future. They have a strong farm system and valuable young pieces that they could use as assets in any trade for a young starting pitcher.
The 26-year-old Syndergaard is 7-5 this year with a 4.33 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, and 126 strikeouts in 126.1 innings. He’s under contract with the Mets through the 2021 season.
Syndergaard made it clear he wants to stay, “I’m more than happy with where I’m at right now, and I look forward to continuing to put on this jersey.”
