What makes Arizona such an intriguing case is the number of talented players it could move: Given how much better Greinke is pitching right now than Syndergaard, the 2009 AL Cy Young winner could command a king’s ransom if the Diamondbacks were willing to subsidize some of the $70 million he’s owed in 20. But unlike many of their neighbors in the standings, the Diamondbacks have reportedly chosen a course of action: They’re doing the former. 500 since June 16, and with the deadline just two days away, it’s time to fold or go all in. Everyone on the Arizona DiamondbacksĪrizona hasn’t been more than two games above or below. Until that happens or the Mets take him off the block, the Astros, Yankees, Rays, and Padres, among other teams, will be hesitant to pursue other options knowing Syndergaard might be available. Syndergaard’s combination of talent, track record, team control, and remaining potential makes him the most attractive player who has a chance to move this trade deadline. The order of the trades means that specific deal won’t happen, but despite the Stroman acquisition indicating that the Mets intend to try to contend in 2019, it does appear that Syndergaard is going somewhere soon. It was a galaxy-brained idea that seemed too weird to occur in the real world, and then on Sunday afternoon the Mets went ahead and traded for Stroman. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported last week that the Mets could trade Syndergaard to the Padres for a package including rookie right-hander Cal Quantrill, then move part of what they get for Syndergaard to Toronto for Stroman. Indeed, the Astros have inquired about Syndergaard leading up to the deadline.īizarrely, the Stroman trade appears to make it more likely that Syndergaard will move this week. But when Cole left Pittsburgh via trade and tweaked his repertoire with his new team, Houston, he turned into a Cy Young contender more or less overnight. Cole, like Syndergaard, is a big, hard-throwing right-hander who for stretches early in his career did not achieve results commensurate with his top-end stuff. The Syndergaard of 2019 might not be as successful as the 2015 or 2016 version, or even the 2018 version, but any team that acquires Syndergaard would do so with the precedent of Gerrit Cole in mind. He’s better-or at least more talented-than Detroit’s Matthew Boyd, under team control for longer than Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer, and substantially younger and cheaper than Arizona’s Zack Greinke. The 26-year-old Texan has been disappointing this year, with a 4.33 ERA in 20 starts, but he’d be the most attractive pitcher on the trade market for several reasons. Now, though, the Mets are dangling an even bigger (literally and culturally) right-hander as trade bait: Syndergaard. Disappointing would-be contenders usually have enough talent that they can ship some off for prospects and reload for the following years, and until a few weeks ago, it looked like the Mets would be unloading free-agent-to-be Zack Wheeler. Suffice it to say, the Mets have failed to live up to their goal of contending for the NL East this season, and currently sit 11.5 games back in the division and six back in the wild card, with five teams to climb over. We don’t know what will happen, but we do have a pretty good idea of which players and teams will set the market. With so much business left to be done, and so little time left in which to do it, one trade or one player being pulled from the market could dictate how the rest of the league behaves. Sunday’s Marcus Stroman trade between the Blue Jays and the Mets got the ball rolling, but there’s still tremendous uncertainty as to how the rest of the deadline period will shake out. Everything You Need to Know About the 2019 MLB Trade Deadline A Trade Target Primer for a Fascinating MLB Trade Deadline We Have No Idea What the 2019 MLB Trade Deadline Will Bring
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