The New York Mets made a big splash when they acquired Marcus Stroman in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, and the initial thought was that the deal would preclude a Noah Syndergaard trade. That is looking less likely by the day, however.
According to Jon Heyman of Fancred, the Mets are still listening to offers for Syndergaard but seem more likely to trade fellow starting pitcher Zack Wheeler.
Mets still engaged on Syndergaard (who’s been linked to SD, Hou, NYY, Oak and Minn) but still seem much more likely to deal Wheeler. Makes sense. Stroman trade highlighted Mets interest in 2020; Noah under control thru 2021, Wheeler a FA after year.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2019
Syndergaard is under team control through 2021 and would likely bring a much greater return than Wheeler, who is not nearly as good and is set to become a free agent this winter. The Mets traded starting pitcher Jason Vargas to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, and one theory is that part of their motivation for acquiring Stroman was to reduce the pool of available starters so they can get more in deals for Vargas and Wheeler while hanging onto Syndergaard.
There’s no question a starting rotation headlined by Jacob deGrom, Syndergaard and Stroman would help the Mets contend for a playoff spot. Even if they’re too far out of the running this year, that gives them a chance to bounce back quickly in 2020.
