With the 2019 All-Star Game behind us, now the attention will shift to MLB's July 31 trade deadline. With no August waiver deals allowed this year, teams must make any and all regular season trades before the end of the month.The latest name to appear in trade deadline rumors is New York Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, Syndergaard could be dealt at the deadline, but only for a very high price. Morosi reports that the Brewers, Astros and Padres all have inquired to the Mets -- who reportedly are not soliciting offers -- on the availability of Syndergaard. Here's more:
The Padres are among the teams that have inquired about Syndergaard's availability recently, sources told MLB.com on Wednesday. San Diego's farm system, rich with high-end pitching, will allow the club to seriously pursue virtually any available starter this month. The Padres have been looking for a veteran starter since last offseason, when they had interest in Syndergaard, Corey Kluber and Marcus Stroman, among others.
Another team monitoring Syndergaard and fellow starter Zack Wheeler are the Brewers, sources said.
Some within the Astros organization are intrigued by the possibility of acquiring Syndergaard, a hard-throwing Texan who could replace Gerrit Cole in future rotations if Cole leaves as a free agent this winter. Syndergaard is earning $6 million this season and is due to receive a raise in 2020, the first year he'll be eligible for arbitration.
Syndergaard isn't new to the trade rumors scene, he was reportedly receiving interest from teams (including the Padres) during this past year's offseason. But, the Mets held onto Syndergaard last winter in the hopes of contending this year in what at the time, appeared to be competitive National League East. As of Wednesday, the Mets sit in fourth place in the NL East at 40-50, 13.5 games back of division-leading Atlanta Braves and seven games back of a possible NL Wild Card spot.
In his first year as general manager, Brodie Van Wagenen (Syndergaard's ex-agent while with CAA Sports) took bold moves while trying to return the organization to relevance. Unfortunately for Van Wagenen, his first blockbuster trade as GM -- an offseason trade with the Seattle Mariners with Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz -- has backfired so far. The decision now is whether or not Van Wagenen will walk back on his win-now mentality at the trade deadline. As Morosi noted, Wheeler could also be moved and that wouldn't stop the Mets from trading Syndergaard, but ultimately, the pressure is on for the Mets to rebound from their loss of the Cano-Diaz trade. From Morosi:
Since the Mets have not committed to a full rebuild, they probably would need to acquire at least one Major League-ready starter for Syndergaard in order to justify moving him. A trade of Wheeler wouldn't preclude the Mets from moving Syndergaard, too, since Wheeler isn't being counted on as a long-term fixture in the rotation.
In addition, there is pressure on the Mets to "win" any Syndergaard trade in light of the disappointing early returns from the Robinson Cano-Edwin Diaz trade.
SNY's Andy Martino adds that a Syndergaard trade is more likely to happen in the offseason, but it's obvious that the Mets have been listening to offers for him for a while now. In 17 starts so far this season, Snydergaard, 26, has posted a career-worst ERA of 4.68, along with other uncharacteristically poor numbers the usually dominant righty.
Syndergaard is making $6 million this season, and has two more years of arbitration eligibility remaining.
Along with Syndergaard, fellow MLB starters Madison Bumgarner and Marcus Stroman are two of the biggest names that have been connected to trade deadline rumors this month. The Red Sox have been linked to Wheeler (who might just be one of the most appealing starters on the market), while the Yankees and Twins have inquired about Stroman. Each aforementioned team has scoped out Bumgarner, as well.
