The Mets are making a last-minute decision to build for their future. Or maybe not. At the trade deadline, who knows? But an ESPN.com report from Buster Olney gives a hint that the Mets might be ready to be sellers rather than buyers, as they were in the offseason, even when it comes to ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard.
Olney reports that the Mets are willing to move Syndergaard and closer Edwin Diaz by Wednesday’s deadline, hoping to rebuild a farm system they decimated in the offseason.
Rival evaluators say they believe the Mets are fully intent on dealing Noah Syndergaard before the trade deadline. “It’s beyond listening,” said one. “They want to move him.”
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 25, 2019
The plan gone awry
The Mets, who won the National League pennant in 2015, have hoped to repeat that sort of success around a starting rotation that once included Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz.
Some of those pitchers were rendered ineffective or injured, and the Mets didn’t even return to the playoffs for the past three seasons.
But New York and new general manager Brodie van Wagenen doubled down in the offseason. They traded prized prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn to the Mariners for second baseman Robinson Cano (taking on most of a massive contract in the process) and Diaz.
Instead, after a 9-4 start to the season, the Mets have slumped badly. They were under .500 by early May and are 47-55 as the deadline approaches, 12.5 games behind the first-place Braves and mired in fourth place. They’re even 8 games out of the crowded NL wild-card race, and have just a 4.8 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Fangraphs.
Even after this little winning streak, the Mets have the second-WORST record in the entire National League. It’s not happening. No playoffs. Don’t tease yourself with it.
— Good Fundies Brian (@OmarMinayaFan) July 17, 2019
Trying to move forward
So instead of chasing a quixotic playoff dream, the Mets are doing perhaps the responsible thing and shopping their valuable assets.
Syndergaard has slumped a bit this year but is undeniably talented and is under team control through 2021. Diaz also hasn’t had a great year but has been better lately and would also fetch quite a haul of prospects.
Whether a deal actually gets done is anyone’s guess. But without a separate waiver trade deadline on Aug. 31 for the first time, we’ll know one way or the other by Wednesday.
Impression is that trading for Noah Syndergaard would require a top 30 prospect and a couple of other solid pieces, one rival exec said earlier today.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) July 25, 2019
