The New York Mets are becoming less inclined to trade ace pitchers Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom as they internally discuss selling.
The New York Mets have been stuck in a free-fall since the middle of April.
After starting the year 11-1, they have fallen to a record of only 31-40 entering play on June 21. The thinking around the MLB is that the Mets will be selling at the deadline like they did last year.
There has been talk of late that the Mets would be willing to consider a trade involving Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard, who are the two best pitchers on the team. However, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports says that it’s unlikely the team will trade either star.
Heyman believes the team is starting to decide it’s better to build around the two, rather than moving them.
“The more Mets people think about it, the less inclined they may ultimately be to trade one of their big two. The duo helped carry the team into the World Series in 2015, and Mets people still believe there’s a major advantage to having a great one-two punch, especially if you can somehow sneak into the playoffs, even as a wild card.”
One team that may be interested in Jacob deGrom is cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees. They need a starting pitcher and employ an incredible pack of young talent. However, the common sticking point has been dealing star Gleyber Torres. The Yankees have been unwilling to include him in a trade.
That is a problem for the Mets, who are unlikely to deal deGrom to the Yankees without landing him. One Met employee told Heyman, “I don’t see how we’d do it without Torres.” The Mets are rightly expecting a top-end prospect for deGrom and if the Yankees aren’t willing to deal one, they won’t be getting deGrom.
Another employee clued him into the team’s thinking on deGrom, saying, “We’d probably have to get something pretty good and someone pretty close,” meaning Yankees fans hopes of getting him for four or five mid-level prospects are all but dashed.
While the team admits that “selling is more likely than buying,” they are unwilling to part with top players for below market value. For the record, the asking price for deGrom, who leads the MLB in ERA entering play on June 21, is higher than that of Syndergaard, who has incredible stuff but has struggled with injuries the past two years.
Neither is likely to be traded and the team is expecting to hang onto injury-prone lefty Steven Matz as well, who Heyman says “there hasn’t been as much talk about.”
Heyman also claims the team has found outside interest in Zack Wheeler while making their calls around the league, but it remains to be seen how interested the team is in trading him.
While it becomes clear that the Mets are going to sell, it appears both Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are safe in Queens (except from injury and lack of run support) … for a while.
