The Noah Syndergaard trade rumors really started to heat up yesterday when two of the more credible reporters in the game, Ken Rosenthal and Buster Olney, both reported about the Mets willingness to trade the 26-year-old flamethrower.
Up until this point, Zack Wheeler seemed like the Mets most likely starting pitcher to be moved at the deadline as he will become a free agent after this season. Now it seems like the Mets are exploring the idea of giving Wheeler a contract extension and trading Syndergaard instead.
The idea being that with two extra years of club control, Syndergaard has more value on the trade market and could likely net the Mets a much better package of prospects in return. So with that in mind, here are some potential landing spots for Syndergaard if the Mets do in fact move him at the deadline.
New York Yankees
The biggest question when it comes to a Noah Syndergaard crosstown trade is whether the Wilpons can stomach the idea of watching Thor dominating for the “Evil Empire” in the playoffs.
The Mets have long been hesitant about trading with their New York City rivals, making it hard to imagine any deal of this magnitude actually coming together. Still, if you set aside those notions, the Yankees make a lot of sense as a trade partner.
For one, they have expressed a lot of interest in acquiring Syndergaard and there is definitely a need to add a front-line stater to their rotation. The Yankees rotation has a 4.45 ERA on the season, which is ranked 15th in baseball right now. They are also anticipating a potential playoff matchup against the Astros, where Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole give Houston a huge edge when it comes to starting pitching.
Now the other reason why the Yankees make a lot of sense as a landing spot is because they have a deep farm system that they can trade from.
The Mets recently sent Omar Minaya to watch Yankees pitching prospect Deivi Garcia. This clearly indicates that the Mets are monitoring their farm system and could make a deal with the Yankees. Garcia is a 20-year-old right-handed pitcher, that started the season in Single-A but has earned two promotions and is now pitching in Triple-A. Garcia has a career 2.92 ERA in the minors and has struck out 375 batters across 259 career innings pitched.
Along with Garcia, the Yankees feature many other interesting trade pieces that could impact the Mets roster now or into the future. Estevan Florial is a 21-year-old centerfielder that scouts rave about because of his five-tool potential. Florial has been hampered by injuries this year, but is primed to have a breakout season in the near future.
The Yankees also have two young players in Miguel Andujar and Clint Frazier that have proven to be major league ready bats but they don’t have a positional fit on the Yankees roster long-term. Point being that the Yankees have the talent to swing a Syndergaard trade, the question remains if the Mets would be willing to pull the trigger.
Houston Astros
If the Mets decide that they want to spite the Yankees instead of helping them, they can just as well trade Noah Syndergaard to the Houston Astros. A one-two-three punch of Syndergaard, Justin Verlander and Gerritt Cole would be a devastating proposition for any team to face and would likely turn the Astros into the prohibitive favorites to come out of the American League.
Houston made a similar deal a few years ago when they acquired Cole, seeing a pitcher with a lot of great stuff that was under-performing with their current team. In Cole’s last season in Pittsburgh, he pitched to a 4.26 ERA (4.06 FIP), while striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings.
Since coming to Houston, Cole has pitched to a 2.94 ERA (2.83 FIP) and has improved his K/9 rate from 8.7 to 12.8. He has also has experienced a great jump in his strikeout to walk rate, as his 6.03 K/BB this year is by far the best mark of his career. The Astros must be salivating at the prospect of doing the same with Syndergaard and are capable of delivering a pretty enticing package in return.
Two of the Astros top prospects that should pique the Mets interest are pitcher Forrest Whitley and outfielder Kyle Tucker. Whitley is a player with a similar profile to Syndergaard as he is a big kid with a 6-foot-7 frame that throws gas. Whitley was the Astros first round draft pick in 2016 and was ranked as the fifth-best prospect by Baseball America in their pre-2019 rankings. A balky shoulder has kept Whitley off the mound for a majority of this season, but he has the potential to be an impact starting pitcher as soon as next season.
On the other hand, Tucker could be inserted into the Mets starting lineup right now as the 22-year-old has already graduated to the major leagues this season. Unfortunately for Tucker, he is currently blocked at the big league level and was only given 64 at-bats before being sent back down to Triple-A. Tucker is having a monster year in the minors, hitting .265/.350/.563 with 25 home runs, 70 RBIs, 21 doubles and three triples. He is also an accomplished base stealer, swiping 21 bases this year on just 23 attempts.
If the Mets can land either of these prospects, or in a dream scenario both, they should definitely consider trading Syndergaard to Houston. I also would like to note that the Mets have a great opportunity to leverage the Astros and Yankees mutual interest in Syndergaard into a bidding war, as Thor could really swing the balance of power in the American League.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Add the Los Angeles Dodgers to the list as another analytically-driven team that has shown interest in trading for Noah Sydnergaard. Although the need to add starting pitching is kind of suspect, as the Dodgers feature the best starters ERA in baseball at 2.98, Los Angeles is clearly in win-now mode and Syndergaard could be the finishing piece for a championship-caliber team.
The Dodgers are pretty set with All-Stars Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler entrenched at the top of their rotation, but Syndergaard could be welcome addition to that group. You could also envision a scenario where the Dodgers keep Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill or Ross Stripling in a playoff rotation and use Syndergaard’s overpowering stuff out of the bullpen.
The Dodgers literally have too much major league talent to fit on one roster, so they have plenty of different trade pieces to chose from if they want to acquire Syndergaard. One of their top prospects who has made his MLB debut but has not been able to remain on the roster is catcher Will Smith.
Smith, 24, is hitting .269/.381/.605 in Triple-A this year, with 20 home runs and 54 RBIs. Smith could become the Mets backstop of the future and has also shown some positional flexibility as he can play third base too.
Another prospect the Mets could look to add is Gavin Lux, as he is in the midst of a breakout season this year. Lux started the season in Double-A, but after hitting .313/.375/.521 in his first 64 games, the 21-year-old shortstop was promoted to Triple-A. In Triple-A, Lux has somehow taken his game to another level. Across his first 20 games, Lux is hitting .482/.556/.965 with 21 extra base-hits and 26 RBIs.
One last prospect from the Dodgers to keep an eye on would be Dustin May. May, 21, is 6-foot-6 with the potential to become a top of the rotation guy himself. May has spent a majority of this season in Triple-A, making 15 starts and pitching to a 3.74 ERA. He has struck out 86 batters across his 79 2/3 innings pitched at that level.
Atlanta Braves
What would be worse, trading Noah Syndergaard to the Yankees, or trading him within the division?
It appears both options are on the table as the Mets sent Omar Minaya to the Braves Double-A game last night, while vice president Allan Baird went to the Braves Triple-A game. The Braves are currently in first place in the National League East and have the talent to be good for a very long time. With that talent comes plenty of trade pieces that the Mets may be interested in.
Minaya and Baird both got to watch an intriguing starting pitcher last night, as a pair of former first-round draft picks took the mound. In the Triple-A game, Kyle Wright started and pitched six innings for the Gwinnett Stripers. He yielded seven hits and three runs on the night, while not walking a single batter and striking out six. Wright came into this season ranked as the 30th best prospect in baseball, just as he was last season. Wright has made four starts for the Atlanta Braves this year, but has struggled, pitching to a 9.72 ERA.
In the Double-A game, Ian Anderson was very impressive, striking out nine batters and allowing just one run in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Anderson came into this season as the No. 32 prospect in baseball and has spent the entire season in Double-A. Anderson has made 20 starts and pitched to a 2.66 ERA, while striking out a whooping 138 batters in 105 innings pitched.
Along with scouting Anderson, Minaya was also likely keeping an eye on a pair of outfield prospects that are considered maybe the best in the Braves farm system. Christian Pache and Drew Waters are both 20-year-old centerfielders that are having great seasons playing for the Mississippi Braves. Pache is hitting .283/.343/.489 with 45 extra base-hits and 50 RBIs in 95 games played.
Waters is hitting .333/.378/.503 with 47 extra-base hits and 37 RBIs across 100 games played. He has also stolen 13 bases and scored 61 runs atop Mississippi’s lineup.
The Braves clearly have the prospects in their farm system to create a compelling package for Syndergaard. The only question is if it makes sense to trade Syndergaard within a division that the Mets are supposedly trying to contend in.
San Diego Padres
The New York Mets just finished playing a series against the San Diego Padres and the young talent on their roster is evident. With Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. playing on the same side of the infield, the Padres are staring down a long window to contend. One of the biggest things they are missing right now is a de facto ace to lead a very young but talented pitching staff and Noah Syndergaard could fit that bill.
While the Padres chances to contend this year are slim, as they currently sit seven games out of the second Wild Card spot, a trade for Syndergaard would be as much about the future as it would be for this season.
Two of the players that were featured in Padres lineup this week could actually be used in a trade to land Syndergaard, as both Luis Urias and Manuel Margot appear to be logical fits for the Mets roster.
Urias, 22, is just 15 games into his MLB career and he has gotten off to slow start, recording just three hits in his first 45 plate appearances. Urias has walked nine times though as he has always been a great on-base guy, with a career .397 on-base percentage in the minors. This year, Urias played 73 games at Triple-A before his promotion and hit .315/.398/.600 with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs. Urias’ best position may be second base, but he can really play all over the infield, having spent significant time at both third base and shortstop throughout his minor league career.
Margot, 24, is a little bit farther along in his major league career, having made his debut back in 2016. Margot is now in his third full season and is hitting .250/.326/.397 with 6 six home runs and 20 RBIs across just over 250 plate appearances. Where Margot would really help the Mets is defensively, as he is a legitimate defensive centerfielder. Through 369 career games, Margot has been worth 22 defensive runs saved. This season, Margot’s UZR of 3.1 and UZR/150 of 8.6 indicate that he is still an above average defender in center. Margot is also an adept base stealer, making it safely in all 15 of his attempts this season.
To go along with these two major league players, the Padres have a treasure trove of prospects that the Mets could chose from when trying to complete a deal for Syndergaard. They also would be sending him to the NL West, which shouldn’t be of too much consequence towards the Mets hopes to contend in 2020.
Minnesota Twins
Maybe the team that could use Noah Syndergaard the most this season is the Minnesota Twins, as they are desperately trying to hold off the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. Right now, the Twins are currently two games ahead of the Indians, after looking like they were going to run away with the division early on in the season. Minnesota is a great offensive team, currently ranked third in the MLB in runs scored and first in home runs. They just need to add pitching to really give them a chance to contend, making Syndergaard an interesting fit for this season and beyond.
According to the Star Tribune Sports, in Minnesota, the Mets are looking at the Twin top prospects Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff in a potential Syndergaard deal. Lewis came into this season ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect by Major League Baseball. The 20-year-old shortstop is not having a great season playing High-A ball for the Fort Myers Miracle. Lewis is hitting .243/.295/.384, with 30 extra-base hits and 35 RBIs. He has also shown the ability to steal bases, swiping 16 bags so far this season and 62 across his first three years in the minors.
Kirilloff, 21, is also highly regarded in the game, as he was ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the baseball coming into this season. Kirilloff is a right fielder, that has spent his 2019 season playing solely with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Twins Double-A affiliate. Kirilloff is hitting .284/.351/.403, with 19 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs.
One final player that could interest the Mets is Twins top pitching prospect, Brusdar Graterol. Graterol has a career 2.51 ERA in the minors, across 200 2/3 innings pitched. This season, the 20-year-old right-handed pitcher has made nine starts in Double-A and has pitched to a 1.89 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting just .188 against Graterol this season, as he features a great 1.05 WHIP.
The Minnesota Twins have the incentive to get this deal done because of their great need to add an established pitcher of Syndergaard’s caliber. The question remains if they are willing to put together the type of package that can compete with teams like the Dodgers and the Yankees that have much deeper farm systems.
Final Thoughts
With all of the reports that came out on Thursday, it appears more likely than ever that Noah Syndergaard will be moved at the trade deadline. Syndergaard is set to start against the 45-55 Chicago White Sox next Tuesday, in what could be his last start in a Mets uniform. The White Sox are 28th ranked offense in baseball, giving Syndergaard a great opportunity to put on a quality audition for the countless scouts that will likely be in attendance.
The Mets really are in the driver’s seat when it comes to trade talks surrounding Syndergaard, as they can just as easily hold onto him for the 2020 season. This is a great opportunity for Brodie Van Wagenen to capitalize on that leverage and immediately replenish the Mets barren farm system. Hopefully he doesn’t screw it up.
