The Mets will listen to offers for co-aces Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but it appears the two will stay put. The club’s seeking overwhelming returns for both right-handers and is “highly unlikely” to move either one, according to Buster Olney of ESPN. With general manager Sandy Alderson on leave as he battles cancer, assistants Omar Minaya, John Ricco and J.P. Ricciardi will help determine the futures of deGrom, Syndergaard and other Mets. However, it’s not a lock that anyone from that group will become Alderson’s full-time successor, as Mets ownership is likely to look outside the organization for the team’s next GM, Olney hears. Minaya, who preceded Alderson as New York’s GM, has the respect of Mets owner Fred Wilpon and will “have a major say” in who takes over for Alderson, per Olney.
More from Olney as the deadline draws closer:
- With deGrom and Syndergaard unlikely to go anywhere, Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ may end up as the best starter moved this month, Olney observes. The Jays have attached “a high asking price” to Happ, Olney writes, which isn’t surprising given his strong track record – including a 3.62 ERA and a career-high 9.84 K/9 in 97 innings this year. Meanwhile, Toronto’s discussing fellow starter Marco Estrada with other teams, Olney reports. Estrada, like Happ, is set to hit free agency at year’s end. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and Steve Adams examined his trade value earlier this week.
- The Indians hope to acquire at least one quality reliever who’s under control past this season, per Olney. Although Cleveland’s a shoo-in to win the AL Central, the team’s bullpen has been a disaster, as its relievers rank 28th in both ERA and fWAR. Further, the Indians could lose their top two relievers, Cody Allen and Andrew Miller, to free agency after the season, so adding someone who’s signed beyond this year would help cover for their departures.
- The Red Sox and Braves are among other contenders that could be in the market for bullpen help, according to Olney. In Boston’s case, Olney notes that it may take on a high-priced reliever from another team in a salary dump, thanks to its thin farm system. The Braves, meanwhile, don’t have the spending ability of clubs like the Red Sox and division-rival Phillies, but they are set to act as buyers as they seek their first playoff berth since 2013. Philadelphia, which hasn’t clinched a playoff berth since 2011, will also buy, Olney relays. Entering Sunday, the Braves (47-34) lead the Phillies (44-37) by three games for the NL East lead, but the latter is in possession of a wild-card spot at the moment.
I hope the Red Sox acquire a top of the line setup man/closer
Preferably a young one, we’re going to have to replace Kimbrell after next year, We all know Boston won’t pay 20 million a year for a closer
Kimbrel better think again if he thinks he is getting $20 million a year. No closer is worth this much since every one knows 1 inning is not THAT important with a 3 run lead when these guys come in. The more important reliever is the set up guy who kills the rallies. And neither one can command that kind of dough considering how fleeting being a relief pitcher is …
As a braves fan, I can’t believe how vastly you are underestimating Kimbrels dominance
As a Braves fan you know Kimbrel is as consistent as a Trump text. It is the perception of the inconsistency of RPs that makes the few consistent ones set records. Not saying Kimbrel will get it (he may take less to go somewhere he is more comfortable with or closer to home) but Wade Davis is proving that the market is dictating that very closers can get near the 20AAV, so why can’t elite one’s break through that? I am all for paying for a more dominant 7th and 8th inning guy, but the market may dictate differently. ATL will be one team with a few dominant setup options but no proven closer, and they will have spending room.
lol ya ok Kimbrel is going to make less than Wade Davis. thats cute
It just doesn’t make that much difference over the course of a season whether you have a 14 k/9 guy with a 1.35 ERA or you have a 9.0 k/9 guy with a 2.90 ERA. Having an elite closer is great if you can get it, but there are easier ways to buy a win or two than spending $20MM on a closer. You can pay a ton less for a top-tier but non-elite closer like Roberto Osuna (hypothetical but if he was a FA) and get practically the same WAR.
RunDMC It would be a good idea to leave political comments out of a page that has nothing to do with political commentary. This is a baseball page. If you want to comment about Trump or anyone else in the political sphere for that matter, go elsewhere.
Ted-Osuna is overrated.
If Osuna was a free agent he would be just as expensive as a Craig Kimbrel type. It DOES make a big difference having a lock down closer. A manager can matchup earlier innings knowing he has the 9th on lockdown.
Teams can win without dominant closers, but just as easily as you can get a no name to close for you, he can blow up in your face at the worst time.
Sid Bream It would be a good idea to stop complaining about him referencing politics. The fact that you pointed it out and made it a big deal is already worse than what he said.
LOL — there is no political commentary to that. Trump tweets a lot, therefore the simile works. I could have said “death and taxes” but it was a Sunday and I was feeling good. Put the phone down and wipe.
Sounds like something a Killary lover would say. Grow up
I’m Canadian. You shut up too.
How is he overrated?
There will be a stupid GM that will overpay for him.
The Red Sox drafted Durbin Feltman in this years draft. He is a reliever only and drafted as such. He has a mid to high 90’s fastball and a wipeout slider. I think there is a possibility that he rockets through the minors with his stuff and if he does he could be called up by end of August I think it’s a long shot but if that works it may change the way relievers are drafted in the future. This guys stuff is absolutely filthy but getting to big leagues in same year as drafted is tough. He should be in the bigs for sure next year sometime though barring injury.
Sounds just like Craig Hansen a few years back. Need to be really careful with talented kids because one bad outing can kill their confidence.
Hansen had an issue with brachial plexus neuropathy… Any confidence issues were likely secondary to that; if a problem at all.
Theyd still be better off bridging to him over some time spent in the minors. Id rather they find s lower cost guy for 2-3 years now and if Feltman hits early, they’ve either got a logical bridge at that point or a trade chip in th guy they aquired while waiting for Feltman.
He’ll be suspended for peds
Wow so you know Durbin you have seen him juicing that would be good info to know. I’m just asking to give the benefit of the doubt before completely dismissing you as a clown.
What worries me from a 21 yo whos a little undersized is the term “Delivery has significant effort”…just waiting for TJS just like Groome…
This is true but which is why he is relief only he is not and will not be a starter. It could be in his future never know. I’m thinking they feel he has so many bullets left and they will move him quickly through the minors. The stuff is there.
The Mets are unbelievable.
Why do you say that the Mets are unbelievable? Their current state of flux is consistent with their history which is filled with drama and laughable results interlaced with an occasional season that gives false hope.
It’s like Olney read recent MLBTR articles and rewrote them.
no kidding. What’s the point? Click bait I guess
Which is basically what this site already does.
I guess someone needs to tell him he isn’t allowed to talk about anything or anyone that’s already been discussed by anyone else on the internet.
Time for Ricco and Omar to break this team down and get 12 good prospects. They aren’t much better than the Marlins right now and they have a better farm system. The Yanks will give you a haul for either de Grom or Syndergaard, time to make a move at the deadline. If they wait one of their pitchers could get hurt and kill their value. Teams will give you their top prospects for either pitcher .
the mets should NOT trade them the people to go are cespedes confordo bruce cabby. then rework the batting order and stay with one .. maybe ????
Who on earth is going to trade for Cespedes? My favourite fans are this player sucks! We should trade him! If he sucks why would another team trade for him?
My favorite commentors are the one who don’t spell “favorite” with a “u.”
Nobody wants them, they will have to sell low on them. The Met window is closed.
So you’d have pitching but what about bullpen and offense? Cespedes is out a lot but besides Nimmo he’s the only consistent Met hitting. And what are you really going to get for him and the remainder of his deal?
“So you’d have pitching but what about bullpen and offense?”
– – – – –
Telling.
Fits perfectly here on MLBTR…….
Defense doesn’t matter.
Cespedes is “the only Met consistently hitting”? Really!!!
He’s played 37 games and is hitting in the .250″s
Have you watched any Mets baseball or listened to their pre=post game shows because if you think Cespedes is consistent…only in that now that he has his 4 year deal he is a walking DL waiting to happen.
He is currently out with some mysterious malady from which he can’t play, probably except for golf, and has distanced himself as far from the team as he can get.
Don’t think you can hit from the DL, and currently there is no timeline for his return. I guess that qualifies as “not hitting” right?
Not a Mets fan, but this guy is a cancer.
Consistent being last few years, obviously this year is the exception. He has proven that he can carry the offense in years past. Unless you’re talking about getting out from under that contract or getting some decent pieces, it makes no sense shedding him unless you’re in full blown rebuild mode — which should happen but won’t in baseball’s top market. As a Queens resident, I’d love nothing more than not hearing a sports report on Cespedes ever again.
With Cespedes and Wright on the DL, you have a thrid of their salary budget. All of their additions this year were busts.
U just described the current Mets. Pitching no hitting and no bullpen. Trade them or one and rework this farm system. Lose with them lose without them. Might as well get something for them. Unlike the islanders and Tavares. That would set this team back a decade if they pull off something like hat and get nothing for either of them.
I think that Metseventually should weigh in here.
Starting out as Mets2015NLChamps2016WSChamps (or something like that–lol), he may have a better perspective than the Three Stooges that are in charge (lol).
Look at the odds of making good trades for both pitchers: When were the Mets 2-0 in good decisions? When were they 1-1 in good decisions? Now that should lead you to appreciate getting swept 0-2 right now; by keeping them and wait for “bad luck” to happen.
Totally agree. With what the Mets have for talent thats going to go nowhere, if they were to do a complete tear down by the trade deadline theyd rake in a haul of prospects that could hopefully have them contending again in a couple years
Not Minaya. Never Minaya. Please…
Definately not a Mets fan, but really.. If Wilpon were to promote that joke minaya to GM again?
Who’s going to stop Fred Wilpon?
Jeff Wilpon has said that if there are serious offers for player the GM troika will come to him with them. Absorb that. Jeff Wilpon. Tone deaf Jeff Wilpon. Clueless Jeff.
If Rob Manfred was more interested in baseball than imposing goofy rules he’d bring the hammer down on the clown car running the Mets. What should be the flagship franchise of the National League is really a triple A franchise.
The Mets are a joke this year but as always the fans freak out and act like they are the worst franchise in sports. This team just made the World Series and playoffs in 15 and 16 but no one seems to remember that….This team had been ravaged by injuries all year to its best players. if cespedes was healthy and Bruce healthy putting up 35 hr years this team might be in first place. I think we need to keep DeGrom and Thor and trade everyone else for prospects. Next year with some health this team could contend. I don’t think trading away our stud ace pitchers resolves anything. Look at the white Sox they apparently got a haul from Boston for sale and so far all those prospects have been mediocre at best.
Come back to reality bro it’s really sweet.
I knew that there was a warning about tainted milk in Flushing, but to think that this guy drank the Wilpon juice is absolutely amazing.
“Next year with everyone healthy we will contend” is a refrain line that should become the Met’s official tagline.
Also 515, I’ve got a top that should help you see your posting errors: STOP using the word BUT to connect two sentences or thoughts that DON’T belong to each other.
Here’s a hint: SUBSTITUTE the word AND if you want to see how foolish your musings look!
thats what i said earlier . keep degrom syndergaard matz should of kept harvey.. dump vargas . insert lugo and or gsellman.. keep nimmo. and get 7 guys who can hit a baseball. set a lineup and keep it. you 8 guy’s start you our bench and who cares if they are a league players if they can hit a ball they are the guys to have.. anyone know hank aaron… the most he struk out in a season is 97 times . whatdose confordo have at half way or bruce or cespedes. come on people cant win if you cant play fundamentals baseball…. bottom line . hit and run .. bunt .. hit behind a runner.. steal a base .. they do none of this well .. even in 2015 it was homerun or nothing.. now its not home run so its gotta be NOTHING … NUFF SAID .. BOTTOM LINE..
None of that is remotely possible with this organization, or for any other club. This is a team that is in serious flux and the only thing that is gonna fix it is a total tear down.
A total teardown seems like a reasonable suggestion in theory. But, looking at the returns proposed for the absolute best players the Mets might trade– deGrom, Syndergaard– do you see many options that are likely to be franchise-altering in a good way (as opposed to a bad way)? Is trading deGrom for Frazier and Sheffield, or Hiura and Burnes, and maybe one or two more guys who are likely to be 5th starters or 4th outfielders, is that really going to put the Mets in a significantly better position long-term? Those kinds of players seem like the best-case scenario. If a team like the Braves actually did offer a good package of high-end prospects, that would be a different matter. But selling off everyone just for the sake of selling them off, even if the value is middling at best, doesn’t seem likely to help much. What if Cespedes is healthy next year (unlikely as that may seem), and Nimmo takes the next step, and Conforto comes back strong, and Alonso or Smith steps up at first, and Rosario shows why he was a longtime top prospect, and Wheeler and Matz continue to show steady improvement? And some of the young relievers are improved with some more seasoning? You don’t need to hit on all of these things to be competitive team- but adding in just a few would make for a watchable team. The problem this year is, like last year, SO MUCH has gone wrong. Things can change from year to year. It makes sense to trade Cabrera and Familia, and Bruce if you can find a taker, and even Frazier, and maybe Wheeler. But trading guys like deGrom and Syndergaard and Conforto just for the sake of a tear down would be giving up on any near-term success without really guaranteeing much long-term improvement. The only reason to move those guys is if you’re really confident in the return,
The total tear down Cereal will only work when it starts at the foundation; ownership. Without that, it would be foolish to expect results any different or less laughable. The Wilpon’s ownership has ruined this franchise. Even Sandy can’t take their $$ and keep a straight face!
For happ from the Blue Jays: top 75 prospect and a throw in?
That will depend on the team, their current payroll and if an arm in the rotation goes down between now and the deadline. Top 75 is somewhere in the ballpark.
Ability to add payroll is as valuable as having prospects. Just because the Sox are low on prospect stock, doesn t mean they can’t add quality pieces by taking on payroll. Like the Stanton trade.
Are you being serious here?
Is he being serious? Well, he’s not completely wrong. There’s productive players out there who are making a ton of money and teams out there that would take a lesser return to clear cash. Are the Red Sox willing to take on lots of money? Hard to say. Spending power isn’t as a valuable as a prospect but it is valuable.
I don’t care what DD says I really don’t think the Sox are going over the 237 million pay roll and lose 10 spots in the draft. I don’t see the Red Sox adding anything more then a bullpen piece.
They don’t have the ability to add payroll. If they put another ~5 M on the books then they get knocked down 10 spots in the draft. That is like adding an extra prospect into any deal and would make their farm system worse.
And I thought your Yankees posts were loopy…good job on topping yourself!
Braves been make a couple moves for a better bullpen. We need at least 1 shut down guy. I’m so sick of a joke of a bullpen we have. If we had a better bullpen, we would have a very comfortable lead in the NL east.
It’s Snitker’s poor management of that bullpen that is the issue.
He’s killed anything left of Sam Freeman already. A few roster moves like Evan Phillips up and DFA’ing Peter Moylan would help, just someone needs to pull the trigger. Really wish any of Gohara/Wisler/Luke Jackson can string together some consistent innings to give us a long relief/spot starter option to take some heat off the ‘pen, leaving less room for Snitker to mess it up.
So ready for the Cox disciples to move on.
Leave Moylan on the side of the road along with Sam Freeman.
The Indians and Padres make too much sense on a Brad Hand deal right?
Mejia and Brady Aiken? I feel like that gets it done. Maybe one other piece from San Diego like Jose Pirela possibly.
I would love that deal but I doubt Mejia would be available for trade even for a cost controlled RP like Hand.
No thanks, not giving up Mejia+…
yeah, no way Mejia is being given up
“The Braves, meanwhile, don’t have the spending ability of clubs like….”
The Braves didn’t have this problem when Ted Turner owned them. In fact, the current Phillies ownership group came into being because of Ted Turner’s spending. When Turner signed Claudell Washington the then Phillies owner Ruly Carpenter publicly cried “Uncle!” and sold the team.
Then came Liberty Media. In 2012 Liberty’s CEO Greg Maffei put $391 million in his bank account. That’s more than three years of Braves payroll.
Ted Turner as owner? Braves have money.
Greg Maffei as owner? Braves are too poor to afford anything.
good lord your comments are just the same crap worded differently.
I’m so sick and tired of this. Everyone on the market is going to the Phillies according to everyone. It’s so annoying because you hear any name and then you see under it “potential fits” first name you see there Pillies this Phillies that
I’d like to see happ and pillar to the cubbies for almora….Chicago needs a starter and pillar will be embraced by the faithful cubs fans….almora has more control than pillar but happ gets them into the world series and when/if darvish is healthy it makes them a team that can go toe-toe with Houston
almora goes right into the lead-off spot and makes the big bats more valuable with his OBP
I don’t understand why the kid from AAA Phillips didn’t get a better look not saying he is an answer but i would think he deserves a longer look than keep bringing Luke Jackson back
Does anybody think Toronto blows it all the way up & make Stroman available. If so what would it take the Braves to get him ? Or Archer ?
Would like Archer or Stroman at the deadline along with the THE Rangers closer for the bullpen may cost to much though
I’m not Mets or Marlins fan, but was at the game in Miami yesterday and saw DeGrom pitch. Overall, having seen so many teams play over the years, this Mets team really is pathetic to watch. Rosario isn’t right and I don’t really know what I mean by that, but everything seems off. DeGrom was cruising until the 7th and then just seemed to give up. The seemingly all Venezuelan Marlins looked superior to the Mets yesterday. Strange times.
Tired of hearing the Braves are the sisters of the poor looking for change under sofa cushions. Liberty is making a nice profit on the new park and will continue to draw fans, especially with a young club primed for a maybe for a half dozen solid years.
Get some more arms and they just could win the East no matter what the Philly or Nats do.
Liberty Media is not involved in Braves management. They are prohibited by law. Braves lack of money is due to a terrible long-term TV deal.