With the New York Mets headed in a new direction under general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, they aren’t ruling out the idea of trading star pitcher Noah Syndergaard this winter.
The second half of a two-headed monster alongside 2018 NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, Syndergaard is still considered one of the best pitchers in the league despite recent injury issues. And the Mets are receiving their fair share of phone calls.
SNY’s Andy Martino reported earlier this week that the Mets are “receiving significant trade interest” for the 26-year-old, who went 13-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 2018.
Among those teams are the San Diego Padres, who initially showed interest in Syndergaard prior to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline in July.
The Padres had one of the worst starting rotations in all of baseball last season. They didn’t have a single pitcher starting at least 10 games with an ERA under 4.00.
San Diego’s trade package for Syndergaard would have to be an impressive one to persuade the Mets to give up their young fireballer. It would likely have to include infielder Fernando Tatis Jr., the second-ranked prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline.
At 19 years old, the natural shortstop would likely have to move to third base seeing as the Mets already have Amed Rosario at the position. But Tatis is showing a ton of promise in the minors and could be the game’s next great power-hitting infielder.
At 6-foot-3, Tatis batted .286 with 16 home runs and 43 RBI in 88 games at the double-A level.
Should the Mets want a more experienced return for Syndergaard, they could ramp up the pressure on the Chicago Cubs and open negotiations on a deal involving Kris Bryant.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Cubs were open to trading the 26-year-old third baseman after an injury-riddled 2018 campaign that saw him post career lows in batting average, home runs and RBI.
A healthy Bryant from 2015-2017 averaged 31 home runs, 91 RBI and a .288 average per season which included an NL MVP Award in 2016.
One of the Cubs’ weakest aspects is the starting rotation. If they want to keep up with the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central, they might have to give up on a big name this winter just like the Mets might have to do with Syndergaard.
