As Matt Ehalt of Northjersey.com reports this morning, Noah Syndergaard has said that he is open to “listening” if the Mets were to approach him about a contract extension in the near future.
“Yeah, I think so, I love being a Met, I love New York City, the fan base is great and has been very kind to me,” Syndergaard said when asked if he’d consider a long term deal with the club.
Despite being discussed as a candidate in trade talks this offseason by new General Manager, Brodie Van Wagenen, Syndergaard says there is no tension between himself and the ball club due to the fact that Brodie “kept him in the loop” throughout all the rumors and scenarios that were talked about.
The 26-year-old has emerged as one of the top young pitchers in the game and is set to make $6 million this upcoming season in his first year of arbitration. He is also under contract through the 2021 and says the team has yet to approach him about an extension.
While two other young star pitchers recently signed extensions with their respective clubs in Luis Severino and Aaron Nola, potentially setting the market for Syndergaard, the lack of discussion between the big righty and the Mets should not come as a shock. The team’s current obligation is to discuss a potential long term deal to lock up their ace and last year’s National League Cy Young award winner, Jacob DeGrom.
DeGrom’s camp is reportedly unhappy with the lack of progress the two sides have made thus far, and as a result, have set a deadline of Opening Day on talks as they do not wish to negotiate during the season. Syndergaard certainly gave the impression that he wants the team to focus solely on his teammate coming off his historic season, saying “go out and pay deGrom, give him what he’s worth.”
Syndergaard also did not seem to mind the thought of possibly hitting the free agent market after 2021, when he will still only be 29-years-old, and notes how he takes good care of his body.
“I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to stay healthy up to that point and able to compete at the top of my level for the remainder of that contract, whatever it might be,” said Syndergaard.
Syndergaard has been very vocal about how he wants to be here and loves playing for this organization. After experiencing a bit of the injury bug the past two seasons, the one they call “Thor” seems more than ready to go and primed for a big season in 2019.