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Noah Syndergaard

Mets, Yankees, Marlins In Talks On Three-Team Deal Involving J.T. Realmuto

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TODAY, 10:36pm: Brian Cashman said Tuesday that the Yankees aren’t involved in active discussions to acquire a catcher, but Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Yanks did contact the Marlins about Realmuto on Monday. Moreover, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, the Yankees remain a possibility for Realmuto. Regardless, a trade involving Realmuto going to New York or anywhere else is not imminent, Frisaro adds.

7:20pm: The chances of this three-team deal occurring seem to be fizzling, Martino suggests.

4:23pm: An official involved in the discussions “downplayed” the possibility of a three-team trade involving Syndergaard, Puma tweets. Puma adds that the Marlins do want Rosario and another player from the Mets, likely outfielder Brandon Nimmo.

2:28pm: The Mets are increasingly aggressive in pursuit of Realmuto, sources tell both Heyman (Twitter link) and Sherman (via Twitter).

Interestingly, multiple reporters (starting with Sherman) have now floated the concept of the Mets dealing shortstop Amed Rosario to get Realmuto, then turning around to sign a gap-filling, glove-first infielder. It’s hard to know what to make of this, but it seems like more than the separate musings of these writers. Over the past few weeks, the new Mets front office has seemingly been willing to put feelers out on its possible strategies through the media.

10:37am: Marlins CEO Derek Jeter is “insisting” that a deal involving Realmuto must bring a quality MLB-level piece to Miami, per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). That lends further credence to the concept of Yankees youngster Miguel Andujar possibly being involved in a three-team arrangement.

Notably, Spencer adds that Realmuto “will” be moved at some point this winter, quite possibly in the near future. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily land with the Mets.

While it’s still far from clear that this particular three-team scenario has legs, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the Yankees have the clear impression that the Mets are willing to engage with them in earnest — even on a deal of this magnitude.

It’s worth noting, too, that there are other possible multi-team arrangements that could be considered to aid the Mets in landing Realmuto. And perhaps it’s not out of the question that the Yankees could pick him up for their own purposes. Sherman hints (Twitter links) that the club could at least in theory do that while modifying the roles of some notable existing players, though he also casts doubt on the possibility.

YESTERDAY, 11:04pm: The Yankees are “pushing hard” to swing a deal with the Mets, and are interested in Mets pitchers other than only Syndergaard, according to Andy Martino (Twitter links).

10:02pm: The Mets, Yankees, and Marlins have discussed a three-team trade that would see J.T. Realmuto end up on the Mets’ roster, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links).  Making the deal into a true blockbuster, Noah Syndergaard may also be part of the negotiations, according to both the New York Post’s Mike Puma and SNY.tv’s Andy Martino.

As per Martino’s source, however, the Mets are also weighing “10 other scenarios” and it doesn’t seem like this trade or any other is necessarily close.  A “lot of smoke [but] not a lot of fire” is how one person familiar with the talks describes things to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  It would seemingly take more than just Realmuto to pry Syndergaard away from the Mets, as Rosenthal notes that the right-hander has three years of control to Realmuto’s two, unless the Mets were also receiving more in the trade.  The Mets and Yankees have “touched base” on Syndergaard in the past, though the star right-hander’s involvement would certainly make the Yankees much more than a simple “conduit” in such a trade.

Needless to say, this would be quite a surprising result to the long-simmering Realmuto trade scenario, simply because of both New York teams collaborating on a major deal.  As Rosenthal points out, the Yankees and Mets haven’t linked up on a notable trade since December 2004, when the Big Apple rivals swapped Felix Heredia and Mike Stanton.  Still, Martino tweeted earlier today that the Mets were exploring three-team options as part of an overall “very aggressive” approach to the trade market, while Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reported that there was some speculation that the Yankees could be involved as a “conduit” in a Realmuto deal rather than acquiring the Miami catcher themselves.

At first glance, it would appear as if the Yankees would be supplying some of the minor league talent that the Mets are unable or unwilling to provide in order to meet Miami’s large asking price for Realmuto’s services.  The Yankees seem like one of several teams the Mets are examining as potential partners in a Realmuto trade, as Rosenthal tweets that the Mets are exploring multiple three-team scenarios as well as standard two-teams swaps with just the Marlins.

Olney’s Latest: Thor, Mets, Dodgers, Astros, Bucs, Indians

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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.

Trade Chatter: Seager, Mariners, Gray, Indians, Rays

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As the Mariners continue to explore further ways to get younger and shed payroll, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the team won’t be attaching Kyle Seager’s contract to Mitch Haniger in an effort to escape the remaining three years and $56MM on Seager’s seven-year deal (subscription required). First and foremost, the Seattle organization considers Haniger to be among the five best corner outfielders in baseball, Rosenthal notes. Beyond that, however, Seager’s contract contains a clause converting a $15MM club option for the 2022 season into a player option, should he be traded. Because that clause makes the remainder of the contract so unappealing to trade partners, he may very well need to rebuild some value in 2019 before he can be flipped. Rosenthal’s column also sheds some light on the Mariners’ other discussions on Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz, in addition to highlighting the organization’s affinity for newly acquired prospect Jarred Kelenic.

Some more trade rumblings from around the league…

  • The Padres and Brewers are among the teams still in contact with the Yankees about a potential Sonny Gray swap, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter links). Both organizations have been tied to various starting pitching options, though the Padres are a particularly curious fit, given their focus on the 2020 season and Gray’s status as a one-year rental. However, as Morosi’s colleague, AJ Cassavell, explains in greater detail, San Diego’s interest has some logic to it. Gray’s stock is down, and a resurgence in San Diego (like many arms before him) could allow him to either be traded for a greater price next July or position him to receive a qualifying offer next offseason. Even if the acquisition doesn’t pan out, he wouldn’t put a huge dent into a deep San Diego farm system. As for the Brewers, they’ve already got a deep collection of right-handed starters, but perhaps they view Gray as a premium rebound candidate and/or feel that acquiring him could allow them to deal from the back end of their current collection of rotation candidates.
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that the market for Indians starters Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer could come more into focus now that Patrick Corbin is off the board. Notably, Olney suggests that Cleveland “might” ask that a trade partner take Jason Kipnis and the remaining money on his contract ($17MM), though obviously doing so would rather notably diminish the return that the Indians would receive for any of their top three starters. Still, that scenario would certainly hold appeal to deeper-pocketed suitors of the Indians’ starters — particularly those with a good deal of long-term payroll flexibility (e.g. the Phillies).
  • The Rays were among the teams with interest in Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link), although Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen strongly downplayed the possibility of trading Syndergaard earlier today. That said, Tampa’s interest in “Thor” is nonetheless notable, as it points to an interest in adding a controllable arm if one can be found at a reasonable financial price point. Then again, as a high-end starter with a projected salary under $6MM and three years of team control remaining, Syndergaard is (or was) something of a rarity on the trade market. Speculatively speaking, perhaps either Michael Fulmer or Jon Gray could be viewed in that same light, but both right-handers are coming off poor seasons, making it tough for their respective organizations to sell low.

Mets Brass On Cano/Diaz Trade, Next Steps

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The Mets held a fascinating press conference today to introduce recent acquisitions Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz — players who the organization clearly sees as major pieces of the club’s next winning roster. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo was among the reporters to cover the festivities; all links below are to his Twitter feed unless otherwise noted.

New Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen offered soaring thoughts on the occasion of his first major move with the club. “I stated that this organization intended to be relentless and fearless in the pursuit of greatness,” he said. “This trade should be a signal to our fans that words alone will not define our franchise.”

Getting a deal done was spurred not only by the team’s own direct interest, but also by a desire to land Diaz before the Phillies could do so. COO Jeff Wilpon indicated the presence of the division rivals in the bidding helped drive the talks. The Phillies ultimately balked at including their best young pitching in a deal for Diaz, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link). Ultimately, they struck a separate deal for shortstop Jean Segura.

Van Wagenen explained further that an “all-consuming” push over the past ten days or so led to a deal. Though Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto had said he was “inclined to hold onto Diaz” and “told us no a number of times,” the Mets “kept staying on it, kept trying to be aggressive on it” and ultimately made a match after batting around numerous deal possibilities.

Unsurprisingly, the addition of an aging but still-excellent player in Cano and a top-shelf young closer in Diaz seem to portend yet more acquisitions. As Van Wagenen put it, the Mets “did not make this move to be our last move.” Wilpon went into further detail, offering up some internal perspective on the club’s status. The team’s own analytical staff see this move as taking the club from an 83 to 84 win team to one that is a true-talent, upper-eighties outfit. With “a couple more things,” he suggested, “maybe we can be 90-plus.”

As ever, payroll remains a factor. This deal is cash-neutral for the 2019 season, though it does add future dollars. And as ever, there’s an opportunity cost — in this case, long-term spending capacity and the loss of young talent. But the Mets evidently feel they can continue to boost their competitiveness.

Wilpon chatted about the Mets’ financials, explaining that the ongoing efforts to work out a settlement on the insurance coverage for David Wright will hopefully soon result in a deal. Even if the funds won’t come in a lump sum, “some of that will go back to payroll.” Meanwhile, though the coverage on outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is said to be a “little bit less” than the 75% coverage the Mets have on Wright’s salary, there could be some funds flowing back for his absence as well.

It’s still not clear how high the Mets will go in an Opening Day payroll. The club has yet to crack the $155MM barrier to start a season, though even that mark would seem to leave room to spend. Of course, there are still quite a few obvious needs on the roster — as we covered in breaking down the Mets’ offseason outlook. Most notably, the club has a variety of bullpen openings to account for and could still pursue upgrades in the outfield, behind the dish, and perhaps also in the infield mix.

One possibility that has popped up on the rumor mill in recent weeks is a trade involving starter Noah Syndergaard, presumably with intentions of adding multiple youthful assets who could join a still-developing core. The early explorations evidently have not shown promise of resulting in a deal, however, as the Mets now say they are strongly leaning against moving Thor. Per Van Wagenen, only under  “very special circumstances” would he “even consider” trading a pitcher who, at his best, is among the top hurlers in all of baseball.

Needless to say, there’s tons to digest from this presser. Taken in conjunction with the trade itself, it sets up the Mets for a fascinating upcoming trip to Vegas for the Winter Meetings.

Latest On Noah Syndergaard

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While other major rumors swirl, the Mets appear to have a line open with other organizations regarding power righty Noah Syndergaard. Chatter on Thor has been percolating for some time now, but there’s increasing indication that the Mets actually prefer to move the franchise cornerstone.

Indeed, the New York org is “motivated” to move on from Syndergaard, according to Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs (Twitter link), with the organization said to be reaching out to rivals to gauge interest. As others have suggested, the Mets would then anticipate turning around and bringing in another starter via free agency.

It remains somewhat unclear precisely why the Mets have determined that trading Syndergaard is the right course, but new GM Brodie Van Wagenen is clearly out to re-shape the roster. That the big righty is a former Van Wagenen client only adds to the intrigue. In any event, there’ll be no shortage of suitors. When healthy, Syndergaard is a monster on the mound and a rather marketable asset to boot.

The rival club most frequently tied to Syndergaard of late is the Padres. As Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets, though, the San Diego outfit is not only unwilling to part with top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr., but won’t part with MacKenzie Gore or Luis Urias, either. It seems that the Friars are more amenable to discussing other prospects, though it’s arguable there are a few others who are or ought to be just as untouchable as that trio.

Otherwise, the Brewers are now a team to watch on Syndergaard, according to Andy Martino of SNY.tv. Their level of interest isn’t clear, but it’s obviously not hard to imagine the Milwaukee org liking the idea of placing Thor atop their rotation. The Reds and Yankees, however, are not involved in the pursuit.

As for the Mets’ apparent plan to add another arm if they move Syndergaard, it’s anyone’s guess how that’ll play out. Certainly, with other moves afoot that’d add salary, this approach would indicate a real willingness to boost the payroll. Just how far, though, remains to be seen. The top-available pitchers would require significant contracts. Other, lesser hurlers are obviously under consideration — Mike Puma of the New York Post cites Gio Gonzalez on Twitter — but assuredly will not bring Syndergaard’s upside and will still out-earn him in 2019 (he’s projected at just $5.9MM).

Market Chatter: Indians, Moose, Cano, Diaz, Thor, Pads

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The Indians’ rotation has come up in trade rumors over the past month, as Cleveland looks to manage a roster with multiple holes and a crowded payroll that is already at franchise-record levels. However, while Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco have been speculative candidates to be moved, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that teams who’ve spoken to the Indians get the sense that Cleveland is more amenable to trading right-hander Trevor Bauer. Kluber is controlled through 2021, while Carrasco is locked into a club-friendly deal through the 2020 season. Bauer, though, is arbitration-eligible for another two seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him to earn $11.6MM in 2019 — a projection he explored at greater length earlier today. If the Indians are to move a starter, there’s some sense behind making it the one of their “big three” who has the shortest amount of team control and least cost certainty, though there’s still no indication that the team is aggressively shopping any of its starters. The ask on Bauer would figure to be huge — likely including pre-arbitration, MLB-ready help — given Bauer’s 2.21 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.46 HR/9 and 44.5 percent grounder rate in 175 1/3 innings in 2018.

Some more notes on the trade and free-agent markets…

  • Mike Moustakas is “on the radar” for the Cardinals as they look for a corner infield bat, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. While Cards didn’t show much in the way of interest last winter, the absence of draft-pick compensation being attached to Moustakas is an important distinction that has them at least exploring the possibility this time around. Meanwhile, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Cards “made a competitive bid” for Josh Donaldson before the 32-year-old signed a one-year, $23MM contract with the Braves. There were similar reports about the Cardinals’ efforts to sign Jason Heyward and David Price, and the Cardinals also came up shy in their pursuit of Giancarlo Stanton last year when the slugger wouldn’t waive his no-trade protection to approve a deal to St. Louis. Of course, Moustakas is not likely to generate the level of market interest that those players did.
  • There has been quite a lot of chatter regarding Mariners infielder Robinson Cano since it emerged recently that the club would like to find a way to dump his contract, though it’s far from evident whether there’s a particularly realistic match to be found. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand says that some feel the M’s will find a taker, though he later added that Cano hasn’t yet been approached by the team about waiving his no-trade rights or about giving a list of destinations as to which he’d be amenable. (Twitter links.) One key factor in the Cano situation is the notion of the Mariners dealing star closer Edwin Diaz as a means of offloading the money owed Cano. There is indeed some willingness to do so on the part of the Seattle organization, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. But it seems clubs with interest in Diaz aren’t necessarily amenable to taking on enough of the $120MM still owed to Cano to make it work. Sherman lists the Mets, Yankees, Braves, Phillies, and Red Sox as teams angling for Diaz, not all of which have any inclination to pick up Cano. That’s not surprising, as it’s an awfully steep dollar amount, even though the long-time star second baseman does still have value himself on the ballfield. That said, Diaz arguably could command something approaching that whopping sum in a hypothetical open-market scenario. After all, he stands out against any other potentially available relievers this winter for his excellence, age, and control. That makes this general structure at least somewhat plausible, though it’ll surely be quite complicated to pull something off.
  • It seems the Mets have quite a few balls in the air at the moment as new GM Brodie Van Wagenen searches for a significant deal that will help jumpstart the franchise. Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link) and Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter) each doused the flames of speculation involving the Mets as a possible match in a Cano swap. But that doesn’t mean the team didn’t explore the subject with the Mariners. SNY.tv’s Andy Martino suggested some possible scenarios involving Cano, though really the basic framework does not seem workable from the Seattle side. Martino says the clubs have batted around a concept in which Seattle would both pay about $50MM of Cano’s salary and take on more in return, such as through Jay Bruce’s $26MM contract, while sending Diaz or Mitch Haniger to New York. Trouble is, the implication there is that the Mets could buy one of those excellent young players for less than $50MM, which doesn’t seem like sufficient salary relief for the Mariners to justify the loss of such core talent.
  • Meanwhile, the biggest name seemingly in play on the Mets’ side is Noah Syndergaard, the uber-talented but health-questionable young righty. The Padres have made clear they won’t part with top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr., per Martino, which dovetails with expectations. While the report indicates that the teams have also discussed San Diego backstop Austin Hedges, he certainly does not profile as a centerpiece in a deal for Syndergaard. Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription links) suggests the Rockies could be an under-the-radar suitor for Syndergaard, who’d turn their rotation into a potentially outstanding unit. Though the offense is surely the priority in Colorado, that can be addressed through relatively low-cost investments; adding Thor, meanwhile, is surely an intriguing thought.

Mets “Seriously Considering” Noah Syndergaard Trade Scenarios

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The Mets are “seriously considering” trade scenarios for high-end righty Noah Syndergaard, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Per the report, at least six rival organizations are “real players” for the high-octane starter.

This is certainly an interesting development. There have been whispers of a possible deal involving Syndergaard, but the seriousness of the Mets’ intentions have remained in doubt. Now, it seems there’s reason at least for other organizations to dedicate resources to exploring deals.

Importantly, Heyman notes that the key for the Mets in any potential deal would be to “fill multiple holes with real impact.” That suggests, unsurprisingly, that new GM Brodie Van Wagenen will not be looking for lower-level prospects. And it also seems to indicate that there’s a rather high asking price for one of the game’s most talented hurlers.

As presently constructed, the Mets roster is built around a potentially outstanding group of starters — much as it has been for the past several seasons. That has not always worked out in practice, with health problems in particular posing a barrier.

With Zack Wheeler reemerging, and the market largely devoid of compelling arms, it seems the Mets may see an opportunity to get value for Syndergaard. Of course, that’d mean parting with one of the team’s clear elite talents while creating an opening in the pitching staff — one that would presumably be filled by Seth Lugo and/or Robert Gsellman, who could both compete with Jason Vargas to round out the rotation. It’s interesting that the Mets seem inclined to keep Wheeler, who’s a rental hurler that would also be of keen interest to the broader market.

The key question is whether the Mets will manage to get enough in return to make it worth their while. At his best, Syndergaard is on a short list of the game’s most dominant starters. Even in a relatively down 2018, he contributed 154 1/3 innings of 3.03 ERA pitching. Of course, injuries limited him last year and robbed him of much of the prior campaign. But Syndergaard also only just turned 26, projects to earn an easy-to-manage $5.9MM salary in arbitration, and comes with two more seasons of club control.

It stands to reason that the Mets would seek to land assets with at least some amount of control, rather than pure rentals, but also that they’d prefer players that have established themselves to some extent in the major leagues. It’s possible to imagine the club being intrigued by additions behind the plate, in center field, or just about anywhere in the infield. The bullpen is a clear need as well, though it’s tough to see a reliever driving a deal.

Making a volume deal that brings adequate will obviously be tough to swing. Teams with interest in giving up a big talent haul for three years of Syndergaard will, presumably, be interested in near-term contention. Those same organizations are, then, unlikely to be particularly keen to part with the pieces that would most interest the Mets. It’s certainly possible, then, that some kind of three-team arrangement could make the most sense, with the hypothetical team acquiring Syndergaard sending prospect assets to an intermediary that would in turn give the Mets what they seek. Potential permutations abound, making for an interesting thought experiment but also leaving it difficult to make anything approaching a reasonable prediction of the outcome.

Jeff Wilpon On deGrom, Syndergaard, Payroll, Front Office

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The Mets aren’t yet prioritizing a contract extension for National League Cy Young Award-winning right-hander Jacob deGrom, COO Jeff Wilpon informed Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News and other reporters Friday. However, the two sides could begin discussions on a new deal next month. “We’ll talk with the new agent here at some point in the near future, probably see him at the Winter Meetings,” Wilpon said. DeGrom’s situation is particularly interesting because his previous agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, became New York’s general manager last month. But deGrom stayed with the same agency, CAA Baseball, where former Van Wagenen partner Jeff Berry is now representing the soon-to-be 31-year-old hurler. If deGrom, who has two years of arbitration control remaining, does strike a long-term pact with the Mets, it’ll come without Van Wagnen’s direct involvement. While the GM would have to approve an extension, he’ll abstain from contract talks with deGrom in order to avoid a conflict of interest.

  • Van Wagenen also used to represent deGrom’s teammate and co-ace, Noah Syndergaard, who has been popular in the rumor mill this week. Should New York make Syndergaard and his three years of control available, most of the league would likely inquire, though the team understandably seems content to go forward with him. Wilpon didn’t rule out a Syndergaard trade, but he said Friday (via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) that a deal involving the flamethrowing 26-year-old “would have to be pretty lopsided” in the Mets’ favor.
  • New York already has upward of $138MM going toward next year’s roster, which won’t give the club much room to spend if it plans on staying in the vicinity of last season’s $150MM-plus Opening Day total. A payroll increase would clearly benefit Van Wagenen in his first offseason on the job, though Wilpon wasn’t willing to reveal whether that’s in the Mets’ plans. “Brodie knows what the parameters of what the payroll is and what we’re planning to do,” said Wilpon (per DiComo).
  • The Mets recently parted ways with J.P. Ricciardi, who was a key member of their previous front office. Assistant GM John Ricco was also integral in the Mets’ prior power structure, but his future is now up in the air. Ricco remains in the front office for the time being, according to Wilpon, who stated (via Ackert) he’s “working” and “has a contract,” adding that “[Ricco] and Brodie will have that conversation when they get to it.” It’s worth noting that Ricciardi also had a contract with the Mets, but the deal didn’t prevent his exit. With that in mind, Ricco may not be a lock to stay in the fold.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Mets, Syndergaard, Rangers, Minor, Orioles

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Star right-hander Noah Syndergaard has drawn trade interest this offseason, but if the Mets do deal him, it’s not going to be for a package of prospects, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Rather, because the Mets aim to contend in 2019, they’d need to make a trade that improves their roster both now and in the future, according to Rosenthal. Moving Syndergaard would likely cause significant damage to the Mets’ rotation heading into 2019, though, so they’d almost have to sign a replacement in free agency, Rosenthal notes. To this point, the Mets have been “very engaged in the marketplace,” a representative for a free-agent starter tells Rosenthal.

Syndergaard’s not the only established Mets hurler whose future is in question, per Rosenthal, who adds that all of their starters are generating interest. Syndergaard’s fellow ace, National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, isn’t going anywhere, sources tell Rosenthal. The rest of the Mets’ rotation – which consists of Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz and Jason Vargas –  isn’t as impressive, though Wheeler and Matz are appealing. Wheeler, healthy for the first time since 2014, is coming off a terrific season, but he only has a year of control remaining; Matz is an injury-prone lefty who was a mixed bag in 2018, but he’s still just 27 and has three years of control left; Vargas, meanwhile, endured a disastrous 2018, and with a guaranteed $10MM left on his contract, the Mets may be fortunate to find a taker for him. However, as with Syndergaard, the Mets’ goal in giving up any of Wheeler, Matz or Vargas would be to better themselves in the near and long term, Rosenthal writes.

More rumblings from Rosenthal…

  • Even though the Rangers’ rotation is perilously thin, the rebuilding club would likely trade its top starter, left-hander Mike Minor, for the right offer, Rosenthal suggests. Minor’s drawing interest on the heels of his first season in Texas, which signed him to a three-year, $28MM guarantee last December. When he joined the Rangers, Minor was coming off an excellent season as a full-time reliever for the Royals, but he returned to a starting role in 2018 and posted a 4.18 ERA/4.43 FIP with 7.57 K/9 and 2.18 BB/9 over 157 innings (28 starts). Minor has an affordable $19MM left on his contract, though his 10-team no-trade clause could block some prospective suitors from acquiring him.
  • After a drawn-out search, the Orioles finally named a general manager, Mike Elias, whom they hired Friday. Elias is now seeking a manager for the Orioles, and it’s “more likely” he’ll hire an experienced skipper than a neophyte, Rosenthal relays. However, Elias isn’t necessarily aiming to make a high-profile hire, per Rosenthal, who writes that the O’s next manager could be a “caretaker.”

Padres Showing Interest In Noah Syndergaard

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After a failed pursuit of Noah Syndergaard this past July, the Padres remain interested in acquiring the right-hander from the Mets, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link). SNY’s Andy Martino writes that Friars “are expected” to be more aggressive in their pursuit this time around.

To be clear, there’s not yet any indication that the Mets have any intention of trading Syndergaard. New general manager Brodie Van Wagenen spoke of a desire to return to contention when he was introduced earlier this month. Van Wagenen vowed to be active in the free agent market. Reports have suggested that the Mets will pursue an extension with Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. All of that points to a win-now mentality, and trading Syndergaard, at first glance, would seemingly fly in the face of that line of thinking.

It’s at least possible, though, to utilize Syndergaard as a means of acquiring controllable, MLB-ready pieces to plug into other areas of need on the roster. A healthy version of Syndergaard is among the game’s best pitchers and is an incredibly valuable asset to any club aiming to contend. But the Mets have numerous holes throughout the roster and a relatively thin farm system. The notion that teams operate as strict “buyers” or “sellers” has long been flawed, and it’s at least conceivable that the Mets could pursue free-agent upgrades while simultaneously dealing away a valuable MLB piece for multiple big league assets with greater club control.

The interest is notable, too, from the Padres’ vantage point. San Diego may not yet be ready to contend in 2019, but the very fact that general manager A.J. Preller is exploring the idea of cashing in some of his vaunted minor league depth to acquire rotation help seems to be a continuation of the thinking that led to last winter’s signing of Eric Hosmer. The Padres’ lengthy rebuild is at least nearing its terminus, and plugging in some pieces who can help both in 2019 and in 2020-21 — the likely target for a return to contention — may well be the next step in the process. The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee recently reported that the Padres are eyeing starters young enough to be in their prime in that 2020-21 window, and Syndergaard assuredly fits the bill.

Syndergaard, 26, is under team control for another three seasons and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $5.9MM next season. He’s spent substantial time on the disabled list across the past two seasons but been legitimately excellent in 184 2/3 innings when healthy: 3.02 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.4 HR/9, 50.4 percent ground-ball rate, 2.56 FIP.

Those three remaining seasons of control, however, mean there’s no reason for Van Wagenen and the front office to feel compelled to move Syndergaard. Even if there’s no immediate desire or optimism regarding a Syndergaard extension, keeping him and deGrom together for at least the next two seasons gives the Mets a formidable rotation nucleus around which to build. And with Zack Wheeler set to hit the open market next winter while Steven Matz also deals with perennial injury issues, there’s an argument that keeping Syndergaard is crucial to the Mets’ plans beyond the ’19 season.

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