Sandy Alderson implies refusal to deal Syndergaard prevented Mets from acquiring shortstop

During a Q & A with Mets season ticket holders at Citi Field on Wednesday night, general manager Sandy Alderson had the following to say after a question about the shortstop situation and why the Mets didn’t make an upgrade:

"We simply were not going to trade Noah Syndergaard"

It’s been reported throughout the offseason that Syndergaard was the player teams asked for nearly every time the Mets inquired about an available shortstop.

While Alderson stated Wednesday night that the Mets were “simply not going to trade” Syndergaard, it was reported in December that Syndergaard’s name came up in trade talks the Mets had with the Rangers.

Talks with the Rockies for Troy Tulowitzki also reportedly “centered around” Syndergaard.

Thoughts:

In my opinion, either one of two things is happening…

1. Sandy Alderson is deflecting his failure to find a shortstop upgrade by implying every single shortstop upgrade would’ve cost Noah Syndergaard.

2. Every single team Sandy Alderson spoke with about obtaining a shortstop is colluding against the Mets.

Only Sandy Alderson and the rest of the higher-ups in the Mets’ front office are privy to what’s actually been discussed, but it seems outlandish that the only player teams are interested in from a farm system that is among the best in baseball is Noah Syndergaard.

Aside from Syndergaard, the Mets have Top-100 level prospects Steven Matz, Dilson Herrera, Kevin Plawecki, Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, and Amed Rosario.

Players such as Wil Myers and Justin Upton were traded this offseason and neither of those players netted a return that included a prospect viewed as highly as Noah Syndergaard.

The players above aren’t shortstops, but the point is that premium players are being moved for players who aren’t as highly thought of as Syndergaard. And no one is saying the Mets had to find a premium shortstop.

The Mets simply needed to find a shortstop who could adequately handle the position and who could hit a little. Failing that, they could’ve acquired a plus defender with a questionable bat who potentially could’ve replaced Flores in the later innings. Instead, they’ve done nothing.

Sandy Alderson is clearly being hampered by the Mets’ inability or refusal to add payroll, and it can be argued that a potential deal for Troy Tulowitzki or Ian Desmond never materialized because of it. Still, that doesn’t excuse his failure to find an upgrade over Flores.

Flores was moved off shortstop four years ago for a reason, and he’s now being pushed as the starting shortstop for a Mets team that’s supposed to contend for the first time in seven years. Something went wrong.