Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen has suggested he’s inclined to keep right-hander Noah Syndergaard, but some teams believe they’d “absolutely” deal him “for the right offer,” Buster Olney of ESPN writes (subscription required). The Syndergaard situation has been among the most interesting storylines of the young offseason, and it appears it’ll remain that way with the aggressive Van Wagenen set for his first Winter Meetings atop the Mets. With three arbitration-eligible seasons remaining, Syndergaard is one of the most valuable players in the game, which has led to heavy interest in the 26-year-old this winter but could also influence New York to go forward with him.
Here’s more from Olney:
- The Dodgers look to be a driving force in the outfield market, Olney observes on Twitter. Not only could the Dodgers trade any of Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp or Joc Pederson and pursue Bryce Harper, Olney notes, but he also connects them to free-agent center fielder A.J. Pollock. Needless to say, of Puig, Kemp and Pederson, the latter would warrant the highest return in a trade. The soon-to-be 27-year-old Pederson’s coming off the most effective season of the trio and is the only one controllable beyond 2019. Further, he’s projected to earn an eminently reasonable $4.7MM next year, his penultimate season of arbitration eligibility.
- The Dodgers are also “all in” on the catcher market, as are the Astros and Mets, Olney reports. Any of those teams could find its answer with Pittsburgh’s Francisco Cervelli, for whom the Pirates are willing to consider offers, according to Olney. Cervelli is coming off an impressive 2018, but as a soon-to-be 33-year-old who’s expensive ($11.5MM), down to his last season of team control and has a startling history of concussions, the low-budget Pirates may be willing to go in another direction.
- Back to the Astros, who didn’t earnestly pursue righty Nathan Eovaldi in free agency, Olney relays. The two sides were a match on paper, Olney points out, as Eovaldi’s a Houston native and the Astros are seeking starting help. Eovaldi re-signed with the Red Sox this week on a four-year, $68MM deal, though, and the Astros continue to need a starter. There’s “one industry theory” that the Astros are more focused on upgrading via trade, which could point them to Syndergaard, Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer or Zack Greinke, Olney notes.
- After the season, when Olney reported the Indians planned to consider offers for their front-line starters (Kluber, Bauer and Carlos Carrasco), the Tribe didn’t expect to extend any of those three, Olney writes. However, the Indians re-upped Carrasco this week, in part because the 31-year-old made it clear he didn’t want to leave. Carrasco’s agents got to work on an extension with Cleveland shortly after questions about the futures of the team’s premier starters began swirling, and the two sides ultimately hammered out an agreement. Now, the Indians have “no interest” in trading Carrasco, Olney reports.
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check your backend…he’s waving hi to you.
I don’t know about the backend. I only use the app. (I don’t even see the up or down votes)
I’m concerned the Indians with trade Kluber or Bauer just simply for the sake of cutting expenses. Any smart GM would not give the Indians a top line prospect because the Indians are desperate to cut costs this year. And if the White Sox happen to land Bryce Harper look out for the Indians to miss the playoffs in 2019.
It will depend on the return.
As with about anything.
Nobody thinks Indians would trade Kluber or Bauer “for …. cutting expenses”. They have to retool the entire outfield, and add 1 or 2 top relievers. No, they can’t add $100-200 million to add 5 players, so cost does factor into it. But they (and most) believe best way to add quality players to give up quality players. And they do have a surplus of starting pitchers. So it makes sense to trade from your surplus to patch these critical holes, not for “cutting expenses”.
They need more than Bryce Harper to overtake the Tribe.
First off, the White Sox are NOT signing Harper, and second, see the first
Crossing my fingers that a Kluber trade will be to another AL team. He’s a fantasy keeper for me.
Case on point as to why league specific fantasy leagues are garbage
Case “in” point
Desperate is a little over blown. It’s the way the Indians operate in a small market and if you look back, they’ve done pretty well.
You are stupid if you think the Indians will trade an ace (the most important position in baseball) just for the sake of cutting costs. 31 teams would all love to have Kluber or Bauer on their team. They are all bidding against each other. These guys are signed for 3 and 2 years respectively. Someone will give the Indians a Kings ransom for a #1 starter as they should
It’s like Deja vu all over again…
I’m really torn on if the Dodgers are going to be signing Harper. Party of me really thinks they are going to but another part of me thinks they won’t spend big this offseason. I read these articles saying they are telling investors they plan on staying below the tax threshold going forward and you also have Friedman running the show who is always trying to look for the bargain deal, just doesn’t seem realistic that all of a sudden he’s gonna start spending like crazy.
As it stands now LA has roughly $70M coming off the books after the 19′ season. They would blow past the tax this year with Harper but could possibly get back under in 20′. They would be set at all 3 OF positions, 1B, SS, and 3B. One of Ruiz or Smith could be ready by then, same goes for Lux at 2B. The rotation would still have Kershaw, Buehler, Maeda, and Stripling. Not saying they’ll sign Harper because it makes more sense to upgrade the rotation and BP. But it’s not out of the question. I think Freidman knows that LA is sick of him shopping in the discount aisle.
Agree totally, I’d be surprised if Harper is a Dodger. LA will arguably rely on trades to improve this Winter than make a splash in the FA market according to local news outlets. This coming week in Vegas should be fun to watch…
I share your scepticism on Friedman’s willingness to give Harper the dough required to get an agreement. I don’t think the investor letter has much to do with it. Friedman just doesn’t believe in making long term commitments that will inevitably limit his ability to secure talent in future years. Kershaw’s first contract was an exception and I doubt he would ever agree to a similar deal again-even though it worked out well for him.
Ellsbury, Frazier, and Florial for Syndegard. Get it done, Cashman!
I see you’re a Yankee fan
They’re always trying to include Ellsbury in a deal. Yanks are stuck with him.
Red Sox say thank you!!
There was a crooked woman , and she walked a crooked mile.
She bought a crooked cat who caught a crooked mouse,
and they all lived together in a Yankee house.
So the Indians that are probably looking to clear some payroll will take on the more expensive contract of Ellsbury? Not going to happen.
Reading comprehension is key. He said Syndergaard, not Kluber
My bad sorry
Still don’t see the Mets wanting to anywhere near Ellsbury. I just don’t see the Yanks getting rid of Ellsbury maybe to Arizona or Seattle the only real chance.
That’s funny
Ellsbury is a washed up stiff with s bloated contract. Replace him with Sanchez and that’s more doable.
Sanchez isn’t going anywhere lol, for deGrom yes, but not Syndergaard.
Lol
As a Yanks fan I ask that you ignore this trade proposal. Pretty please?
Lol the Mets would laugh at you until Cashman hangs up the phone in embarrassment
The mets shouldn’t be laughing at anyone
LOL
lol what do the Mets do with three outfielders when they just traded Jay Bruce to 1) offset money and 2) start clearing a bloated OF?
Ellsbury has negative value, Frazier is blocked with the Yankees and Florial is 3 years away. Why would you even suggest that a washed up CF whose best tool was his speed, a former top prospect without a position and a maybe prospect for one of the premier pitchers in the game?
You’re making all of us Yankee fans look silly by suggesting such nonsense.
What does Frazier being blocked with the Yanks have to do with him being an asset for another team? And I’m not speculating what he will or won’t do I’m just asking what you mean by that? His recovery from his concussion is the only thing holding his value down as of now. Yanks would be better off letting him prove his health in ST and then if he’s hot start him (if no other LF is acquired this winter) or more likely, letting him start in AAA and hopefully rebuild his trade value.
Wack ass Yankees farm simply don’t got the bullets for a Thor trade – NYM doesnt trade with Cashman either, at least not on this level. Brodie needs to keep Thor unless a top 20 overall guy is coming back. Yankees don’t have any of those so, try again. Only true threats are: SD, WSN, HOU, MINN, CIN, OAK, COLO and maybe PITT or LAA if Keller or Adell are on the table. Being that none of those teams seem super willing to make that deal, Thor isn’t going anywhere. Out of all those teams though, I think Houston are dumb for not putting either Tucker or Whitley on the table for him, being they are losing SP after this year.
Watching the Yankees get shut out this offseason has been absolutely delightful so far. Other GM’s are catching onto “NYY prospect syndrome” where their only tradeable guys are actually not that good in MLB. Suck it Yankee homer losers! Winning 1 measly title in your hyper-spend era (2001-present) SUCKS!!
Which team do you root for again? Oh and our “wack ass farm” is not rated in-house. It kills me how every other team’s farm evaluations are relevant but the Yanks are all hype based. You act as if the Yankees are out hiring street teams to circulate flyers that Jesus Montero was the 2nd coming of Johnny Bench.
Give Cash credit for having a feel on which prospects to keep and which one’s to trade and just because they WERE traded doesn’t mean they won’t be any good. I personally wish we held on to Widener and Solak.
I also love how you start the comparison at 2001. From 1996 to 2018 the Yanks made the post-season 19x, made it to WS 7x and won 5 WS. Still more than any other franchise so keep hating.
The Red Sox won it in 2018 with the highest payroll. Until they hand out a trophy for the team with the most efficient payroll then it matters not to anyone other than the teams that didn’t win., There are no demerits if you spend top dollar to put the best team on the field. If so, the A’s fans might feel a bit different.
I’d rather make it to the playoffs and lose than to not make it at all because of payroll restraints. And imo, trying to stick to a budget in the 195-230 mil is not indicative of a team being cheap. There is a limit somewhere.
you complain when a red sox fan starts comparison at 2001 but yet you go all the way back to 1996 to justify yours…and going to the playoffs 19 times and only winning 5 rings is nothing to brag about…using your logic i can say Boston won 4 rings since 04 so that makes us better
I’m not a Yankee supporter in any way and that’s literally the worst trade offer I’ve ever heard
What is it with Yankee fans and coming up with lopsided non-sensicle trade proposals? I mean seriously
Isn’t that most fanbases tho? Aren’t most fans guilty of proposals that vastly are one-sided?
Delete your account
ellsbury is worthless in the trade market, you have a better chance of getting that done without him as part of the offer
Anyone got a young lefty reliever to trade for Cervelli? Cionel Perez to Pitt, Cervelli to Houston?
Why you lowballing Cervelli? Outside of Realmuto he’s the best trade option out there for backstop. He’d return a #9-12 organizational prospect at worst.
eh, I can see it. It’s only 1 year of Cerv plus he’s SUPER injury-prone and houston’s farm is stacked so their #12 guy is probably top 5 everywhere else.
No he wouldn’t. Too old and only 1 year left on a deal
Depends on which organization we’re talking about. Not all organization’s #9-#12 are the same.
True but the Astros and Dodgers have good farms and are figured to be the 2 teams that really need C
Is Cervelli any good defensively? Admittedly I know very little about him. On paper his offensive numbers look pretty bad.
When you analyze catchers, you are grading on a curve as compared to other positions, bit yeah, he’s pretty good. I rate him as Top 5 (probably right at #5) catchers in the game, especially on a one-year expiring deal. He’ll probably bring back a similar return to Yan Gomes.
Cervelli has a career .273/.362/383 line. He won’t provide much power (his 12 hrs in 2018 was a career high) but good bat to ball skills and will draw some walks too.. He’s also an above average defender,
I was thinking Fried to Pirates for Cervelli until Braves brought back McCann
Who was a worse signing Ellsbury or Pavano ?
Justin Upton.
Or his brother?
Or both of them.
Mike Hampton new jack
I dont see the Indians dealing a starter. They are in now win mode and the American league centrals pretty weak right now. They should wait til next offseason to see where they’re at
Well the rumor is that they are willing to trade Kluber so they can shed payroll and re-purpose his money to address other areas of need. They feel like they can lose one of Kluber and still will the AL Central with Bauer, Carrasco, Clevinger and Bieber.
Exactly, and what good is winning the division to do nothing in the playoffs? They need to improve other areas like the corners and bullpen in order to increase their chances in the playoffs.
Why don’t the Astros just resign Morton? He shouldn’t cost too much and probably not more then a two year commitment and he was good last year. Unless Morton doesn’t want to go back to Houston it just makes too much sense.
They made him an offer but he hasn’t accepted yet. It takes two to tango.
I’m thinking he’s going to wait it out and go to whatever East team has an opening. If Thor gets traded I can see him going with NYM, for example.
Pederson to the Braves might sound interesting as a fall back move. The Dodgers might be motivated to move him and since he’s a platoon, it brings down his price. Maybe Allard with accompanying lotto ticket and maybe another small piece? Might have to do a little better but not much more for a platoon hitter who isn’t even AA worthy against left handers.
Pederson hit lefties fine in the minors. If not for Roberts’ insistence on platooning everyone Pederson would’ve developed into a full time player. If given the opportunity to play everyday he’d be a dynamic player. No discounted offers should be considered.
I’m not sure what his MiLB splits were (Fangraphs and Baseball-Refetence make it too difficult to figure this stuff out easily) but his MLB splits are pretty poor. Then again, the sample size is small.
Best-case scenario for Joc is probably to be traded to a semi-contender that can afford to give him reps against lefties and see if it works. The Dodgers OF depth is too strong and there’s too much on the line for them to roll the dice with him in high-leverage situations.
Looked at his splits. He’s terrible against lefties now. Not looking for a discount, just looking to pay his worth.
The guy even had worse splits against lefties in 2017 also. Come on, get real. Look at his baseball reference page.
Dodgers may be stuck with Kemp. What is he owed? Like 20 mill+? I think he’ll be at least a reserve next year for the club. Puig is probably as good as gone.
Pollock’s OBP is abysmal. What’s the hype for him? He’s often injured.
Exactly, he’s worth 2/30 at most. Too much risk.
Looks like Wilpon has recovered from the Madoff scam and has taken steps to scale up the Mets expenses and revenue.
Bryce Harper recently rented an apartment in Long Island City, NY in a building that has three other Mets players as residents so who knows after the Cano trade.
The Mets appear on their way to becoming “Evil Empire Lite” and baseball might have several more Subway Series like in 2000.
Just curious as to how you came to the conclusion that Fred Wilpon has opened his pockets. The payroll is lower than the last 2 seasons as it sits and Jeff Wilpon and Brodie both already said there’s no room to add a Harper or Machado deal based on their financial framework.
Owners say a lot of things and then do the opposite. It’s called posturing in business and bluffing in poker.
Doing or deeds is what to believe. The Cano trade is a deed to the contrary that can only work if payroll is expanded. I don’t know why Harper would rent an apartment in an outer borough of a city that he has no ties to that just happens to have other players as residents but he did. As the old saying goes, “where there is smoke, there is fire”!.
The reason for the “coupon” reputation is due to recovering from the Madoff con.
Major celebrities rent apartments in Manhattan and The Hamptons. They almost never rent in the outer boroughs especially in a gentrifying neighborhood for hipsters priced out of Williamsburg and yuppies out of Northwest Brooklyn unless they have business or family there. Harper has no known family there being from Vegas but three other Mets players in the same complex seems like a sufficient business reason.
You’re clearly not familiar with the Coupons and the operation of the team. If you can provide an example of a time they said something and did the opposite to favor the team, I’d love for you to share it. They don’t stick to the mentality that you need to spend money to make money.
Here’s a fun game. Take a peak at when Wilpon took his first 50% of the team ownership and compare it to when they won their last WS… ironic, isn’t it?
I think the problem is the idea that Harper rents an apartment in NYC. A search for this leads immediately to a thread on Reddit, not gossip sites with pictures of Harper going in or out of the building or out about town.
The baseball reports have Harper living in Las Vegas.
Harper is going to sign with Amazon and work out of the HQ2 building. They will build a new league around him and you can watch on Amazon Prime.
The Yankees are partnering with Amazon to buy back the YES network so who knows. Why rent an apartment in a complex of Mets players only to sign with Yankees would be a bit unusual but with Boras as an agent, who knows what his strategy is.
Andrew Toles and Ramiel Tapia are two outstanding young outfielders who are highly undervalued by their respective teams. Indians should look to slyly nab one of these guys. In light of how their teams have treated these two, acquiring them would be like taking candy from a baby.
Not at all. The Dodgers know Toles is good, after all they were the ones that salvaged him. If anything they will try to sell the Indians on him being in a deal for SP
I’m a Dodger fan and know Toles well. Asinine he was stuck in Oklahoma City all year. If they thought highly of him they would’ve made room for him. Knowing Toles’ affinity for throwing fits and being kicked off teams I’m shocked he didn’t tear up someone’s office last season.
I love Raimel. Love watching his crazy long chicken legs run wildly and unsure in the outfield, especially with his ridiculous top speed. And the guy can put wood to anything thrown his way. Very exciting young player. That said, he’s erratic. He doesn’t lay off bad pitches and his angles and instincts in the field could use some work. I’d actually prefer Rockies to start him over any free agent other than Harper. He only becomes available once they acquire a new OF though. Rockies won’t surrender him for peanuts either.
Tapia has had nearly 3,000 AB’s in the minors and has a career minor league avg. of .319. Yet, he remained in the minors most of 2018 and isn’t penciled in as a starter for 2019. Toles has over 1,500 AB’s with a career minor league avg. of .309. As I said, if I’m a go from another team both these guys would already be on my roster.
What about Kluber to the cubs for Schwarber and caratini. Fills needs on both teams and leaves the door open for Harper to the cubs if they chose that route
Pete – This is a good start, but not enough.
By the way, I like your screen name. It is about time to let him in.
I agree
hhmmmm….
An offense only OF’er who’s best spot is DH and a back up catcher for one of the top five starting pitchers in Major League Baseball..
..don’t think so..
Going to take more than that for Kluber.
After his clickbait headline about Bryant, Olney is just more fake news.
Thor needs to go to Boston
Shouldn’t you have said Hulk to Boston? After all, Green Monster.
If the Yanks pass on Harper and Manny I could see them getting creative as such:
Sign either Markakis or Brantley to play LF.
Sign Miller, Britton and Robertson,
Sign Iglesias or Hechavarria
Sign Marwin Gonzalez
None of those guys should require expensive long-term deals.
Trade Betances, Voit, Frazier, Florial and one of German/Loisaiga/King plus a wild card lower level high-ceiling guy like Luis Medina or Deivi Garcia for Kluber, Kipnis and Alonso,
Indians get a closer/8th inning guy in Bets, a 1B in Voit who should be able to replace Alonso’s production,if healthy, a starting corner OF in Frazier, a top 100 prospect in Florial, a solid #5 caliber young pitcher with upside in either German/Loisaga or King and a high ceiling/high risk young pitching prospect that throws upwards of 100 in either Medina or Garcia.
Indians salary going out- $50 mil
Indians assume- Betances estimated arb salary of about $8mil. Voit has 5 years of control and won’t see arbitration until 2021. For the purpose of 2019 Indians free up about $32 mil net savings to re-purpose.
Yanks get a FOR starter, a left handed batting 1B and Kipnis who they don’t really need but can absorb his salary or perhaps, flip him somewhere else if they eat his salary.
Via FA they address their other needs while bringing in two lefty bats, an outstanding defensive SS and refortify their pen.
Hicks
Judge
Brantley/Markakis
Stanton
Andujar
Sanchez
Alonzo
Torres
Hech/Iglesias
Rotating Gonzales as needed between 1B, 2B, SS and LF.
If I’m the Indians, I say yes.
Geez, why does everyone think the Indians would be interested in Frazier? There was a reason they kept Zimmer and traded him.
Ellsbury for Kluber…..Schwarber for Kluber……C’mon Red Sox fans, I’m waiting for the Swihart for Kluber proposal……
Kluber’s been one of the Top 5 pitchers in MLB for about 4 years now…he’s CHEAP on an escapable contract…he’s a bulldog…little injury issues…..
The Yanks’ or Cubs proposals don’t work IF the respective teams take on Kipnis AND EE and put in their #1 prospect…….
Fowler for Kluber straight up. Maybe Indians kick in some cash lmao
I’m waiting for Tampa Tommy to scream that Bauers and Ciuffo for Kluber is a horrible over-pay……
Is there anything about Astros re-signing Keuchel? Why wouldn’t they make him a priority? They need starting pitching
The Astros need Bumgarner. They trade for MadBum and they’ll win it all next year.
Perfect fit. With the exception to Atlanta.
Dodgers will find a way to trade Kemp AND Puig, then sign Harper
Wait, the Indians are considering trading a starting pitcher?
Yep, but they’re insisting on attaching Slider’s contract in the deal.
Trade Thor now & get something.
R A Dickey is a faded memory.
Win now…
Trade Syndergaard…
Hmmm……
Harper, 2018, .249; lifetime .279
This is worth more than the Nats’ $300MM offer?
Hell no.
Agreed. He’s way overpriced.
The Dodgers roster and minor league systems are literally overflowing with good players. An embarrassment of riches. They need to deal from this unique strength to acquire premier players like Kluber to help get them over the top in the playoffs. Their master plan was designed to mature in 2019 and it’s simply a bonus they made it to the World Series before their fruit ripened.
Especially at High-A. That team just brutalized the rest of the California League.
Yes, I watch them play several times each season. Dustin May is the real deal. Jeren Kendall is not.
Not sure I buy the interest by the Dodgers on either Pollock or Cervelli. Neither of those players are an improvement over the existing options and both would constitute a bump in payroll barring any kind of trade. I think sometimes the phrase “interest” is thrown around without much weight or substance. In this case interest and execution could be miles apart.
Actually Cervelli makes a lot of sense for the Dodgers. Barnes hits at the Mendoza line and their only other option until their kids are developed is Farmer, who I don’t think they want to give the keys to. Cervelli’s attitude fits the Dodgers locker room and his contract expires in synch with Ruiz’s anticipated development and arrival.
Barnes has only 2 seasons over 200 abs. one where he hit a bit over 200 and one where he nearly hit 290. of course I don’t think he’s a better player than Cervelli, that’s an obvious upgrade. I just don’t think it’s a $12 mil upgrade. Barnes also has plus speed for a catcher and plays multiple positions. The dodgers are stacked with prospects behind the plate. I would hate to see them overpay for a 1 year option.
This is a big year. A quality veteran defensive catcher who can hit is needed.
Time for AJ to work his magic. Bauer would look good as a Padre!
Bauer wouldn’t be in San Diego long enough for Padres prospects to develop. Padres should wait another season to acquire a couple top tier sp’s.