Enjoy the Mets while you have them, because they probably will be a different team as July becomes August.
And that is probably a good thing for this club, which doesn’t need to keep dead weight on the roster, and also needs to become a deeper club going forward into next year.
General manager Brodie Van Wagenen has his work cut out for him, because he’s listing to any and all offers not names Alonso, deGrom, or McNeil.
He should.
It’s been heavily reported that Noah Syndergaard is on the block. Michael Conforto may be on the list as well and Edwin Diaz. Make no mistake, though, the Mets aren’t going to give their controllable assets away, unless some team is so desperate that the Mets clearly win the deal.
And, in all honesty, there are very few organizations that can bear to afford such a cost. Right now, the Braves and Padres look to be the only clubs with deep enough farm systems that will whet the Mets taste.
Because if the Mets are going to move a Syndergaard. Or a Diaz. Or even a Conforto – the least likely – then they will demand at least three top prospects and possible a major league asset back.
And when Van Wagenen gets the deal of his liking, the is always the problem of convincing the Wilpons to do the deal. Remember Syndergaard may not be having a great season, but he is a very marketable asset, which gives the club a draw.
Then there is the problem of sending him to the Braves, who play the Mets 18 times a year. The club has already seen former players go to division rivals (See Daniel Murphy, and Jay Bruce) and light the club up.
That’s why there is absolutely no chance of Syndergaard or any other player going to the Yankees and the Braves seem like a slim outcome too, unless it’s for an unbelievable premium.
Although, the Post’s Joel Sherman reported tonight that an executive from another organzation, who has communicated with the Mets said they are “definitely” trading Syndergaard, the club may be better served by waiting to the offseason, where there will be plenty of more suiters and the Mets can find a rotation replacement in the free agent market. They don’t have to trade him by Wednesday and get full value for him. It can wait to the off-season.
Instead, look for the Mets to move Zach Wheeler and/or Jason Vargas and wait to the off-season to get Syndergaard. Even though the Padres really want Thor on the West Coast, they are still under-.500 and making the playoffs will be a difficult proposition. There’s no need to pay up now for Syndergaard because their urgency isn’t there without other trade partners with just as good farm systems.
Instead it looks like Wheeler, with his 5.1 innings with three earned runs and six hits, brushing off the shoulder impingement that put him on the IL for a couple of starts.
He will fetch more than Vargas, who has been a mostly a disappointment for the Mets.
And forget about the Mets trading them all, since they won’t be able to fill 3/5th of their rotation with what’s in the minors.
Two can give the Mets Walter Lockett and Chris Mazza shots for the rest of the year, but more likely you will just see one of them go, unless the Mets just want to dump Vargas’s salary as a money saving measure. With the Wilpons, you never know.
With Diaz, the Mets have a sought-after asset having a bad year, but will look to get the same type of return for him as they gave up to Seattle, meaning they have to be bowled over. Unlike Syndergaard, there’s no long-term loyalty from the Wilpons there, so he may be more likely to go than Thor.
Then there is Todd Frazier, who is likely to be dumped for little because it opens third base up for Jeff McNeil and allows Mickey Callaway to play J.D. Davis every day.
Expect a prospect or two back, but nothing too earth shattering, unless the Mets decide to pay the portion of his contract.
With five days to go, Van Wagenen has some work to do. It’s going to be interesting to see how all of this turns out.
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