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Mets “Fully Intent” On Trading Syndergaard, Considering Extending Wheeler

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4:03pm: The Mets “want to move” Syndergaard in a trade, a rival evaluator tells ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).  The feeling amongst many outside evaluators is that the Mets are “fully intent” on dealing Syndergaard.  As to The Athletic’s Marc Carig hears from a rival executive, the asking price on Syndergaard is something in the range of a top-30 prospect “and a couple of other solid pieces.”

3:22pm: Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler have been often mentioned as trade candidates this summer, with Wheeler considered the likelier of the two to depart since he is a free agent after the season.  According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), however, the Mets are also exploring a scenario that would see them sign Wheeler to an extension and deal Syndergaard before the July 31 trade deadline.

The upside of this strategy is obvious.  Wheeler’s trade value is currently limited due to his rental player status, and the fact that he isn’t scheduled to come off the injured list until Friday, due to a particularly ill-timed shoulder impingement.  When healthy, though, Wheeler has shown flashes of being a front-of-the-rotation pitcher, particularly during his impressive 2018 season.  In extending Wheeler, the Mets would be able to keep one solid arm in their rotation over the longer term, which would then free them up to make a bigger deadline score now by moving Syndergaard, whose extra years of control and higher talent ceiling have made him an attractive commodity to other teams.

It isn’t known whether the Mets have reached out to Wheeler’s representatives at Jet Sports Management about extension talks, or if Wheeler has any interest in even signing such a deal to remain in Queens rather than testing the open market this winter.  Wheeler has a 4.69 ERA over 119 innings this season, though with some solid advanced metrics and ERA predictors (3.66 FIP, 3.85 xFIP, 4.01 SIERA) that suggest he should be pitching better than his actual ERA suggests.  On the down side, Wheeler is allowing significant more hard contact than he did in 2018, and a big spike in homer rate (13.7% in 2019 as compared to 8.1% last season) can be seen as the culprit for that inflated ERA.

It all makes for a good but not great platform season for Wheeler.  Depending on how he pitches the rest of the way this year, he’ll be heading into free agency without the benefit of a real ace-level season, he turns 30 next May, and he’ll have a qualifying offer hanging over his head.  With all of these factors in mind, Wheeler and his reps could prefer the security of an extension (if the price is right, of course) rather than testing what has become an increasingly fraught free agent market over the last couple of years.

Negotiating an extension with Wheeler, of course, would add an extra layer of complications to the Mets’ plans in the final week before the deadline.  Naturally you’d think the club would want Wheeler locked up before dealing Syndergaard, though the Mets could also try to get the framework of a Syndergaard deal lined up in advance.

Still, it makes for an awful lot of moving parts within what would be a franchise-altering decision.  Syndergaard doesn’t turn 27 until next month and is controlled through the 2021 season via arbitration, and while the right-hander has been more solid than great this season, he has shown he is capable of being a frontline arm when at his peak.  The Yankees, Padres, Astros, Brewers, and Twins have all been linked to Syndergaard in rumors, and the Mets are known to be looking for a huge return if they did move the young righty.

Yankees Rumors: Bauer, Bumgarner, Syndergaard, Wheeler

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The Yankees and Twins, two American League powers, staged a memorable three-game battle in Minnesota this week. This round went to the Yankees, who took two of three in an offense-driven set that saw the Bombers live up to their name in outscoring the Twins 30-27.

While the Yankees are now a major league-best 66-35, they’re surely not thrilled with the way their somewhat maligned pitching staff performed against the high-powered Twins. Starters C.C. Sabathia, Domingo German and J.A. Happ were among Yankees hurlers who took beatings, which could intensify the club’s efforts to improve its rotation before the July 31 trade deadline. That remains general manager Brian Cashman’s primary focus, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

Over the past several weeks, the Yankees have been connected to just about every top starter potentially available – including the Indians’ Trevor Bauer, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner, and the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler.

Bauer is near the top of the Yankees’ wish list, per Hoch, who reports they “would love” to see Cleveland make him available. Indians general manager Mike Chernoff seemingly hasn’t closed the door on a Bauer trade, but parting with him would be an unexpected move from a Tribe team that has overcome a difficult start to climb into playoff position. The Indians are 59-42, two games up on the AL’s No. 1 wild-card spot and just two back of the Twins, thanks in part to Bauer. The 28-year-old has racked up a major league-high 152 1/3 innings of 3.49 ERA/4.19 FIP pitching with 10.58 K/9 against 3.49 BB/9.

Like Bauer, Bumgarner’s perhaps an indispensable piece to a team that has emerged as a playoff hopeful. Bumgarner looked like a surefire trade candidate all season until the red-hot Giants won 17 of 21 in recent weeks. They’re currently 52-51 and three back of a wild card. The future of Bumgarner, a Giants icon, looks much more up in the air as a result. Regardless, it doesn’t seem as if Bumgarner – who has the Yankees on his limited no-trade list – is New York’s preferred choice. “Yankees people are said to be less enthused with” Bumgarner than Bauer, Hoch writes.

Meanwhile, Hoch relays that the belief is the Mets are uninterested in dealing with the crosstown rival Yankees at all, no matter what they might offer for Syndergaard or Wheeler. That would be unfortunate for the Yankees, who may be the team with the most interest in Syndergaard and would reportedly be willing to trade their premier prospect, Deivi Garcia, for him. As a soon-to-be free agent who’s about to return from a multi-week absence stemming from a shoulder injury, Wheeler has far less trade value than Syndergaard. Andy Martino of SNY reported three weeks ago that the Mets were open to sending Wheeler – then healthy – to the Bronx, but that might not be the case after all.

Even if the Yankees don’t end up with Bauer, Bumgarner, Syndergaard or Wheeler, they do seem likely to strengthen their rotation this month. After Minnesota shredded its staff this week, New York’s starters rank a middling to worse 15th in ERA, 16th in fWAR and 21st in FIP. Nobody from the group has produced truly great numbers, either. Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and German have posted low-four ERAs with aligning peripherals, while Sabathia and Happ have performed like back-end options at best.

One would be remiss to ignore that the Yankees have gone without their ace – Luis Severino – all season because of shoulder and lat injuries. While the Yankees are hopeful the star righty will return in mid to late August, which could provide an enormous boost, it’s unknown whether Severino will be able to go full bore at any point this year. Cashman suggested two weeks ago that Severino could max out at 75 pitches or even work as a reliever. Severino’s ongoing absence has thrown a massive wrench in the Yankees’ plans this year, and it could have a big hand in the club landing an outside starter.

Latest On Interest In Mets’ Pitchers

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Most reports out of New York over the past few weeks have echoed a familiar trio of names when assessing their trade chips: Zack Wheeler, Todd Frazier and Jason Vargas. The three are free agents at season’s end — Vargas does have an $8MM club option ($2MM buyout) that looks increasingly intriguing — making them natural candidates to be shipped out by a 46-54 Mets team that is closer to the NL’s worst record than to the division lead.

The larger source of intrigue surrounds whether the Mets would move assets controlled beyond the current season. To that end, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports within his latest column that the Mets “have been open to dealing” embattled closer Edwin Diaz. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen isn’t in any type of rush to move his offseason headliner, however. Rather, he’s endeavored to receive a comparable package to the one he surrendered in order to get Diaz in the first place. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets a similar sentiment, noting that the ask on Diaz is “so sky-high that it’s basically a non-starter.” Though ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggests on Twitter that the Dodgers are a nice match on paper, he doesn’t indicate whether the sides have had actual discussions — let alone whether the Los Angeles organization would meet the Mets’ asking price.

Finding a deal that compares to the one that brought Diaz to New York seems an impossible order. In addition to taking on a hefty chunk of the Robinson Cano contract, the Mets parted with a pair of young players — Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn — who are soaring through the Mariners’ system and up top prospect rankings. Diaz’s strikeout, walk, ground-ball and swinging-strike rates have all gone in the wrong direction. And while he’s tossed six shutout innings since his most recent meltdown — a four-run collapse against the Phillies — he’s still lugging a 4.81 ERA with as many blown saves (four) as he had all of last season.

Even teams that feel they have an answer for Diaz’s struggles wouldn’t be willing to pay a metaphorical dollar-for-dollar rate in negotiations with the Mets. As for taking a lesser deal, the optics of trading him for cents on the dollar while retaining Cano and the sizable portion of his salary they absorbed in that deal would be poor, to say the least. Diaz is controlled through 2022, so a strong finish and/or a 2020 rebound would do wonders for his value.

It seems more plausible that if the Mets were to receive a sizable offer on a controllable arm, it’d be Noah Syndergaard. Olney tweets that the Mets are “seriously listening” to rival clubs that have interest. While Syndergaard hasn’t really thrown in a way that buttresses his own trade value, he’s throwing hard and seems to be in good health. His 4.36 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 would all be career-worsts if the season ended today, but his track record and upside are so impressive that there’ll be loads of interest.

Whether that listening stance has a real chance of turning into meaningful trade talks remains to be seen. Both Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter links) and Andy Martino of SNY cite the Yankees as the club with perhaps the keenest level of interest in Syndergaard. Both reports suggest that top pitching prospect Deivi Garcia could be a headliner in such a deal, and while GM Brian Cashman plainly stated a couple weeks back that he wouldn’t move Garcia for a rental, Heyman suggests that the Yankees would “surely” put Garcia in play if meant obtaining Syndergaard, who is controlled through 2021.

Of course, the Yankees and Mets simply haven’t dealt with one another on the trade market at any point in recent history, which makes negotiations all the more complicated. And Olney tweets that he doesn’t think the New York rivals will be able to make a deal on such a significant player. Martino writes that the two teams have nevertheless talked Syndergaard “many times” this month, swapping proposals and counterproposals with no real progress being made. A deal is characterized as unlikely, although he also lists the Astros, Padres, Brewers and, to a lesser extent, the Twins as teams trying to pry Syndergaard loose.

That high asking price may not be the case with regard to Wheeler, whose value partially hinges on how well he performs in Friday’s expected return from the injured list. The Mets’ hope seems to be that a strong outing will quiet some concerns about Wheeler’s recent shoulder flareup, but the injury undoubtedly quelled some interest in him. Despite the concerns, Yahoo’s Mike Mazzeo cites a Mets official as calling the chances of a Wheeler trade “pretty high.”

If the Mets don’t find any offers on Wheeler to be viable or, even worse, he experiences renewed shoulder discomfort and is forced back to the IL, the club could retain him and issue a qualifying offer at season’s end. Barring a worrying showing, though, it may be that the Mets will end up simply taking the best offer on a player whose tenure in New York has seen its share of peaks and valleys.

Zack Wheeler Scheduled To Return Friday

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The Mets expect to get arguably their top trade chip back before the July 31 deadline. Right-hander Zack Wheeler, on the injured list since July 15 with a shoulder impingement, is slated to start Friday against Pittsburgh, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Wheeler got through a bullpen session unscathed on Sunday and is “likely” to throw live batting practice Tuesday, according to Puma.

Assuming Wheeler does make it back by the end of the week, he’ll have one opportunity to prove he’s healthy prior to the end-of-month trade cutoff. Wheeler’s arm looked plenty lively over the season’s first few months, but his injury has prevented him from taking a major league mound since July 7. Before then, an array of teams showed reported interest in Wheeler, who stands out as the non-contending Mets’ best impending free agent and one of the most appealing soon-to-be FAs in baseball. The Mets could keep Wheeler and issue him a qualifying offer in the offseason, meaning they’d still get something for his departure, though a healthy version seems more likely to wind up on the move in the next week-plus.

The 29-year-old Wheeler’s just a season removed from serving as one of the NL’s top starters, as he logged a 3.31 ERA/3.25 FIP with 4.2 fWAR/3.9 bWAR in 182 1/3 innings. His output was all the more impressive considering Wheeler barely pitched from 2015-17 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the first of those years.

Now four years away from his procedure, Wheeler hasn’t enjoyed as much success as he did in 2018. Thus far, Wheeler has pitched to a 4.69 ERA through 119 innings, having seen his HR/9 climb from .69 last season to 1.21 this season. But Wheeler remains among the game’s hardest throwers, and the rest of his numbers are vastly more encouraging than what could be a somewhat deceiving ERA. Wheeler’s 9.83 K/9, 2.57 BB/9 and 3.67 FIP all suggest he’d help a contender down the stretch. It appears he’ll have a chance to make his case Friday.

Zack Wheeler Could Throw Full Bullpen Sunday

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  • Mets righty and prime trade candidate Zack Wheeler went on the injured list with a shoulder impingement on July 15, but it doesn’t appear that’s going to stand in the way of a possible deadline deal. Wheeler could throw a full bullpen session Sunday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. If that goes well, there’s potential for Wheeler to return in time to make two starts by the July 31 cutoff for trades, Puma observes. As things stand, the Mets are still optimistic Wheeler would net “a solid return” in a deal, according to Puma.

Report: “Scarce” Interest In Wilson Ramos

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Even though Wilson Ramos is only in the first season of a two-year, $19MM contract, the struggling Mets could attempt to trade him before the July 31 deadline. The problem is that teams aren’t exactly lining up to acquire Ramos, per the New York Post’s Mike Puma, who reports inquiries have been “scarce.”

The Ramos pickup is one of several splashy offseason moves that haven’t gone to New York’s liking during a campaign to forget. On the positive side, the offensively accomplished Ramos has continued to post respectable production with the bat. With a .267/.345/.396 line in 304 plate appearances, Ramos’ 99 wRC+ is 12 points higher than the average catcher’s. Still, it probably isn’t the type of output the Mets were envisioning they’d get from Ramos, whose wRC+ has dropped 32 points from the career-best 131 he recorded with the Rays and Phillies in 2018.

Although Ramos hasn’t been the legitimately great offensive catcher he was a year ago, his defensive decline is the bigger concern for the Mets. Going by Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric, Ramos has been one of the worst behind-the-plate defenders in the majors this season. The 31-year-old has gotten negative reviews as a framer and a blocker, and to make matters worse, he has thrown out only 9 of 71 would-be base stealers. Ramos’ 13 percent caught-stealing rate is down 16 percent from his career mark.

Ramos’ defensive woes aren’t lost on the Mets’ best pitchers, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, who Puma notes have expressed that they’d rather pitch to light-hitting backup Tomas Nido. If Ramos isn’t going to catch either deGrom or Syndergaard, it clearly makes his contract and presence that much less desirable for New York. However, with seemingly no playoff contenders in the market for a pricey catcher having a disappointing season, the Mets may be stuck with Ramos until at least the winter.

Latest On Zack Wheeler

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Mets righty Zack Wheeler got back on the mound today, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo was among those to report on Twitter. Though he only threw 13 pitches, and did so from the slope of the mound rather than the rubber, it’s a notable sign for a significant potential New York trade chip.

When we put up MLBTR’s ranking of the top sixty trade deadline candidates last week, we had Wheeler in the third slot. The live-armed hurler hasn’t turned in an impressive earned run average this year (4.69) but otherwise looks like much the same pitcher who was so impressive in 2018.

Unfortunately, the Mets’ already gloomy season took another turn for the worse when Wheeler promptly came down with a shoulder impingement. He has been on the injured list since. Though the team has generally put out optimistic vibes, there’s no shortage of uncertainty as to his trade status with the deadline just a dozen days off.

It seems the major test for Wheeler, a free agent at season’s end, will come in the next few days. Assuming he recovers well from today’s limited session, Wheeler will likely be tasked with a full pen session. If all checks out at that point, per DiComo, the righty could be ready to start a big league game by the middle of next week.

If that timeline holds, Wheeler would theoretically be able to make two starts before July 31st. That ought to give interested teams enough time to get comfortable with his health and get a sense for the current status of his arsenal. Whether there’ll be any impact on Wheeler’s value remains to be seen. The team still believes it can procure “something decent” in a trade, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets.

If Wheeler isn’t able to make it back before the deadline for some reason, it’s still possible he could be dealt. But it’s quite possible the return wouldn’t be sufficient to prompt a move. The Mets can always hold on to Wheeler, hoping he can help spur a surprise run late this year while returning to full health, and then extend him a qualifying offer at season’s end.

Mets Notes: Trades, Nimmo, O’Rourke

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The latest on the Mets….

  • The Mets entered the day with a 44-51 record, they’re still only five games out of a wild card spot in the congested National League.  With this in mind, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman suggests that if the team isn’t going to really blow things up by dealing Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom, they might as well hang onto other veteran trade chips like Zack Wheeler, Todd Frazier, and Jason Vargas (none of whom are likely to generate much in the way of a return at the deadline, with Wheeler’s value in question due to injury) to try and contend down the stretch.  With so much parity in the NL, “why not just play this out, rather than performing a fan-angering salary dump for minimal prospect return?” Sherman asks.
  • Brandon Nimmo is able to resume some baseball activities after the Mets shut him down last month, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports (Twitter link).  While Nimmo probably won’t start a rehab assignment “until August at the earliest,” it’s still a positive step forward given that Nimmo has been suffering from a bulging cervical disc in his neck.  It would seem like there’s at least some chance Nimmo gets back onto the field this season, though the Mets will obviously be careful with the outfielder given the delicate nature of the injury.
  • Ryan O’Rourke was designated for assignment by the Mets in late June, and learned about the move in unfortunate fashion, Syracuse.com’s Lindsay Kramer writes.  O’Rourke wasn’t told about the transaction by a coach or staff member, but rather via Twitter after a teammate showed him the news prior to a game.  The left-hander ended up remaining in the organization at Triple-A Syracuse after being outrighted off the 40-man roster in late June, though O’Rourke took advantage of his brief hiatus in a unique manner.  He ended up playing for Team Ireland in the qualifying rounds of the 2019 European Baseball Championship, appearing in two games for his grandfather’s home country.   “I was so happy. It was one of the better experiences in baseball of my entire life….I’m not representing myself, I’m representing my parents, my grandparents. I’m representing a country. I’ve never represented a country before when I played so it was really cool,” O’Rourke said.

Blue Jays Acquire Wilmer Font

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The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Wilmer Font from the Mets in exchange for cash, per announcements from both organizations. New York designated Font for assignment last Friday.

The Mets acquired Font, 29, from the Rays in exchange for 19-year-old righty Neraldo Catalina early in the season to add some depth to a beleaguered pitching staff. He made a few spot starts early in his time with the club but settled into a relief role with uninspiring results. In 31 total innings as a Met, Font logged a 4.94 ERA with 24 strikeouts against 13 walks and two hit batters. Font also served up eight long balls in that short time with the Mets.

Despite his lack of success in the Majors, however, Font keeps intriguing clubs around the league. He’s been traded from the Dodgers to the A’s to the Rays to the Mets and now the Jays without ever even being exposed to outright waivers. He does average 94 mph on a heater he complements with multiple breaking pitches, and Font has experience as an opener, a traditional starter and a reliever, so he’s comfortable in a variety of roles. The Jays will become the fifth team to try to coax quality results out of Font since the 2018 campaign opened, and as a rebuilding club they can certainly afford him a decent leash if they see fit.

Trade Candidates: Top 5 Starters By K/BB Ratio

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If you’re a pitcher, there aren’t many more important skills than racking up strikeouts and limiting walks. The on-the-block starters who have been adept in both categories in 2019 figure to be among the players who garner the most interest from other teams leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. With help from the trade candidates list MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and Steve Adams assembled last week, here’s a look at the five qualified, potentially movable starters who have stood out more than the rest in the K/BB department this year…

Zack Greinke, RHP, Diamondbacks: K/BB ratio: 7.13

  • Even though he’s 35 years old and has a fastball that clocks in just below 90 mph, Greinke remains one of the majors’ preeminent starters. Greinke has fanned 8.02 batters per nine this year and walked a paltry 1.13, helping him to a 2.95 ERA/3.20 FIP across 128 frames. Plus, in a game where home runs are becoming more prevalent, Greinke has yielded under one per nine. If the Diamondbacks go into sell mode, Greinke is theoretically someone who’d draw plenty of interest. However, his contract could serve as a major roadblock. Not only is Greinke owed roughly $79MM through 2021, but his partial no-trade clause gives him the right to say no to 15 teams.

Matthew Boyd, LHP, Tigers: K/BB ratio: 6.33

  • A glance at Boyd’s MLBTR page shows no shortage of teams in pursuit of the breakout 28-year-old, who has evolved into a K/BB master this season. Boyd has struck out 12 per nine and issued just 1.89 BB/9 at the same time, though a low groundball percentage (37.1) has played in a part in recent difficulties preventing home runs. Boyd has allowed 10 in seven starts dating back to the beginning of June, when he owned a 3.01 ERA. He has now posted a 3.95 mark in 114 innings this year, albeit with a 3.47 FIP/3.35 xFIP and the majors’ 11th-highest swinging-strike rate (14 percent). Considering Boyd’s 2019 production, his $2.6MM salary and his three remaining seasons of arbitration control, it’s no wonder teams are lining up for him.

Jacob deGrom, RHP, Mets: K/BB ratio: 5.14

  • Despite their awful 42-51 record, the Mets probably aren’t going to trade deGrom, the reigning NL Cy Young winner whom they signed to a four-year, $120.5MM extension entering the season. The 31-year-old hasn’t been the otherworldly force he was in 2018, but that’s far more of a compliment to his work a season ago than a knock on what he has done in 2019. To this point, deGrom has pitched to a sparkling 3.21 ERA/3.12 FIP with 11.27 K/9 and 2.19 BB/9 over 115 innings. Should the Mets at least consider trading him? Many of you think so, but general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s unlikely to pull the trigger.

Madison Bumgarner, LHP, Giants: K/BB ratio: 4.84

  • It’s true Bumgarner isn’t the ace he was in his halcyon days, but the 29-year-old’s K/9 (9.33) and BB/9 (1.93 BB/9) are befitting of a front-line arm. His 3.86 ERA and 3.80 FIP tell another story, though they’re certainly not subpar. The multi-time playoff hero has drawn tons of interest in advance of the deadline, and is likely the top rental starter in the rumor mill. For a while, Bumgarner has looked like a surefire trade candidate for the Giants, but a recent hot streak has put them just three games back in the National League’s wide-open wild-card race. Still, odds are that they’ll move Bumgarner for a solid return in the next two weeks.

Mike Leake, RHP, Mariners: K/BB ratio: 4.72

  • Leake’s inclusion on this list comes as a surprise in light of the other hurlers on it, and he’s definitely not part of it because of an impressive strikeout total. To the contrary, Leake has fanned a meager 6.63 batters per nine over 115 1/3 frames. On the other hand, his 1.4 BB/9 is outstanding. The same can’t be said for Leake’s 4.60 ERA/4.99 FIP or his 88.2 mph average fastball velocity, though. As a back-end starter who’s owed the balance of $36MM through 2020 (including $9MM from his prior team, the Cardinals, and a $5MM buyout in 2021), there isn’t much trade value here despite Leake’s placement in this top five.
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