Over the last few days, rumors have swirled that the New York Mets are trying to move Noah Syndergaard before the July 31 trade deadline. The Mets are expecting a heavy load of top tier prospects in return for their innings leader this season.
Why Trade Syndergaard?
Syndergaard has not pitched as well as he did last season but has still been very solid. In 126.2 innings this year he has a 4.33 ERA and 126 strikeouts. Much like Jacob deGrom, he had a subpar April and has seen his ERA decrease in each month this season.
Here come them trade talks. pic.twitter.com/YShMUtKl5U
— Noah Syndergaard (@Noahsyndergaard) July 26, 2019
Zack Wheeler was originally the most likely pitcher to be traded, but his shoulder injury sidetracked any ideas. Syndergaard still has two more years of control and is also two years younger than Wheeler. All of those factors would allow the Mets to rebuild their farm system after losing key players in the Robinson Cano/Edwin Diaz trade.
Should the Mets move Syndergaard?
The Mets must believe they are going to receive a strong enough package to replace Syndergaard in the rotation if they deal him. It certainly would not fall in line with Brodie Van Waganen’s “Win now and win in the future” mentality.
If I am the #Mets, I don’t trade Noah Syndergaard.
Why?
1) A strong finish after a rough 1st 3 1/2 months would up his value to a wider field this winter.
2) Even if no. 1 happens, I still dont trade him. If they want to contend in 2020. At $7-8m, he’d still be a bargain.
— Michael Baron (@michaelgbaron) July 25, 2019
Many teams around baseball are searching for starting pitching and the Mets are unique because they do not have the same problem. The problem is their bullpen and below-average defense. If the Mets want to contend in 2020 they will keep Syndergaard, until the offseason at worst. Let Syndergaard lower his ERA and raise his stock so if the Mets want to trade him they receive even more in return. If they decide to keep him they will comeback with a strong rotation in 2020.