When the New York Mets fell out of the postseason picture less than one week before the July 31 trade deadline this season, Noah Syndergaard somewhat surprisingly was made available. Naturally, the Los Angeles Dodgers were among the reported teams with interest in the right-hander.
However, days after Syndergaard was seemingly placed on the trade market, the Mets acquired Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays. That initially was taken as insurance to fill the void of a potential Syndergaard trade at the deadline.
But the Mets ultimately elected to retain their ace and wound up making a push for the National League Wild Card before fading late in the year. Indications early into the offseason were that the Mets no longer had interest in a possible Syndergaard trade.
General manager Brodie Van Wagenen has since confirmed as much, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:
“We have made it very clear that we’re not going to engage on Noah,” Van Wagenen said. “We have received inquiries, but we have been proactive in letting people know that what I said publicly back earlier this summer, and again in October, that he’s going to be with us going forward.”
As it stands, the Mets’ starting rotation for 2020 is due to consist of back-to-back National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, Syndergaard, Stroman and Steven Matz. Zack Wheeler rejected the qualifying offer and isn’t considered likely to re-sign with the Mets.
If New York doesn’t find a fifth starter in free agency, they conceivably could rely on Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman, or some tandem of the two.
Although the Dodgers hadn’t been linked to Syndergaard since the trade deadline, his no longer being available could have an impact on them as well. On the surface L.A. doesn’t have a pressing need for a starting pitcher, but Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu are free agents.
The Dodgers are considered to be among the teams with interest in Gerrit Cole, however president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s history suggests signing the right-hander to a long-term contract isn’t likely.
Therefore, a trade for Syndergaard or another elite talent, is viewed by many as a more probable scenario for the Dodgers as they look to bounce back from being eliminated in the NL Division Series.
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