Mets: Trading Noah Syndergaard then acquiring Marcus Stroman is a bad idea

Trading Noah Syndergaard is one thing. To turn around and use the prospects the New York Mets acquire to then land Marcus Stroman is another. It’s faulty logic and even worse, will not make the team better.

The MLB Trade Deadline on Wednesday July 31 is approaching quickly, and rumors and speculations are swirling. One of the most recent and talked about ideas involves the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays. According to multiple sources, the Mets are keen on trading starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard, and many teams are interested, including the most likely postseason-bound Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, and New York Yankees.

The trade(s) involving the Mets, Padres, and Blue Jays would entail New York sending Syndergaard to San Diego in exchange for several prospects. The Mets would then use these prospects to acquire starting pitcher Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays.

Apparently, the Mets are entertaining the idea because that way, they can keep both Stroman and Syndergaard out of the hands of the aforementioned contenders, especially their cross-town rivals. However, in doing so, the Mets would be making a grave mistake that will have a long-lasting negative impact on the club and their chances to contend in the near future.

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To begin with, at 26 years old, Syndergaard is two years younger than Stroman and is under team control for another two years, while Stroman is under control for just one more.

Stroman will be expensive to keep around after next season, which puts the Mets in another dilemma: they will either have gone through all this trouble and lost a great, young starting pitcher in Syndergaard just to have Stroman for a little over a year or they will have to use money that would otherwise be allocated to some of the team’s other needs to signing Stroman to a long-term deal.

One of the Padres’ prospects being mentioned as part of this deal is infielder Luis Urias, who is the team’s second-best prospect as well as the 20th best prospect in baseball.

Even though it is now being said that the Padres are hesitant to include him in a potential trade for Syndergaard, acquiring him would not accomplish much for the Mets. First of all, there is a chance that the Mets might have to ship him to Toronto as part of the second part of the plan in acquiring Stroman.

Second of all, even if they do keep him, they don’t really need him. The team doesn’t need an infielder. Defensively speaking no, the Mets’ infield is not good, but it is set for the year. We also can’t forget that Urias is a prospect, and the Mets’ farm system is stacked with promising infielders.

The Mets need a natural, MLB-ready centerfielder more than anything, and that is what they should set their sights on.

Speaking of defense, the Mets should also not be so excited to have Stroman because of his ground ball rate. He leads the league in that statistic at 56.3%. This would be great news for a team with a good infield, but that is not the case with the Mets.

The Mets’ defense is one of (if not the) worst in the league and having a pitcher on the mound who generates so many ground balls would end up being a disaster for this team.

The most important reason why the Mets shouldn’t be so eager to get rid of Thor and acquire Stroman is that Syndergaard is simply a better pitcher. On his career, he has a 3.21 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 699 strikeouts in 645 IP. Stroman, on the other hand, has a 3.76 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and just 635 punchouts in 789.2 IP.

Yes, Stroman is having an incredible 2019: he was an All-Star and has a 2.96 ERA, which is good for fourth in the majors. And yes, Syndergaard is having the worst year of his career, which is arguably why the Mets are seriously considering trading him.

But we’ve seen Syndergaard at the top of his game and when he’s good, he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball. He has the potential to be an ace and it just does not make sense for the Mets to give up their number two guy in their rotation now, especially since the organization keeps claiming that they are ready to contend.

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At the end of the day, Syndergaard is a better player than Stroman. I do not think the Mets should trade Syndergaard to anyone, at least not now, but this trade idea, in particular, does not make any sense for the team. Plus, we all know how much Syndergaard loves being a Met and he has been very vocal about not wanting to be traded. Why throw all that away for nothing?