Neil

ZACK GREINKE AND NOAH SYNDERGAARD TRADE SCENARIOS

Photo courtesy of Lindyssports.com.

Arizona is actively trying to trade Zack Greinke. Greinke has the highest AAV of any starting pitcher and for a rebuilding team, he’s simply not a fit due to that salary and his age. What teams would make sense to acquire him and for who? With all of the starting pitching free agents in Arizona’s near future, I assume that they would prefer pitching prospects with near-term ETA’s in return. I also assume that the contending team acquiring Greinke would be willing to trade their close to the Majors pitching prospects, as long as they’re not their best ones.

1. ARIZONA TRADE SP ZACK GREINKE TO THE HOUSTON ASTROS FOR LHP CIONEL PEREZ & RHP CORBIN PEREZ

Houston needs starting pitching help with Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton currently free agents and Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander doing the becoming ones next year. Houston wouldn’t need to send too many prospects back, if they take on Greinke’s entire contract and with Keuchel, Morton and Brian McCann coming off the books, they can afford it. If Arizona actually want better prospects, then maybe Houston would consider sending RHP Josh James, instead of one of the Perez’s, but I don’t think that it would be necessary.

2. ARIZONA TRADE SP ZACK GREINKE TO THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS FOR LHP SETH ROMERO & OF DANIEL JOHNSON

Washington need a starter and with Bryce Harper likely coming off the books this year and Ryan Zimmerman next year, they can afford him. They may be able to finally break through their LDS barrier with a trio of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Greinke anchoring their rotation.

3. ARIZONA TRADE SP ZACK GREINKE TO THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES FOR LHP JOJO ROMERO & RHP ADONIS MEDINA

Philadelphia could use another top of the rotation arm. They’re interested in signing Patrick Corbin, so why not pursue another Arizona starter instead? Philadelphia can afford Greinke’s salary and has some decent prospects to offer.

What about Noah Syndergaard? The New York Mets are actively shopping him and are apparently looking for position players ready for, or already at the Major League level.

Photo courtesy of thesportingnews.com.

1. THE NEW YORK METS TRADE SP NOAH SYNDERGAARD TO THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS FOR C SEAN MURPHY, 2B/SS FRANKLIN BARRETO, CF RAMON LAUREANO & LHP A.J. PUK

Oakland is desperately in need of an ace to keep their momentum going and Syndergaard would be perfect (especially away from the Mets’ doctors). This is a good market for second basemen, so Oakland can sign someone or re-sign Jed Lowrie and shortstop is currently occupied by Marcus Semien, leaving Barreto on the bench. He could compete with Jeff McNeil for the starting job at second base and Amed Rosario for the starting job at shortstop. There’s also more room at third base with Todd Frazier becoming a free agent next year and with Oakland having Matt Chapman locked in at the hot corner for years to come. Laureano can be replaced in Oakland with Dustin Fowler and can help the Mets in CF. Murphy can help solve the Mets’ catcher situation and Oakland can just sign a defensively minded veteran. While reports suggest that the Mets aren’t specifically looking for pitching in return, they could use Puk for pitching depth and to be convinced to make this trade.

2. NEW YORK METS TRADE SP NOAH SYNDERGAARD TO THE SAN DIEGO PADRES FOR LF HUNTER RENFROE, 2B LUIS URIAS & C FRANCISCO MEJIA

San Diego could move a step closer to contention and Syndergaard in PETCO Parl is a recipe for a Cy Young award. Renfroe is expendable in San Diego and is playing out of position in left field. Mejia is also expendable with a better defensive catcher in Austin Hedges on hand and they have enough depth at second base to replace Urias. All three however sold the Mets’ hitting issues.

3. THE NEW YORK METS TRADE SP NOAH SYNDERGAARD TO THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS FOR 2B KESTON HIURA, CF COREY RAY & 1B/OF ERIC THAMES

Milwaukee badly need an ace and Syndergaard fills that void. They were one win away from a pennant this year without a true ace, how far can they go with one? Hiura is a steep price to pay, but worth it and is exactly the type of controllable asset that the Mets seem to be looking for. Ray gives the Mets a real center fielder and Thames, while not a prospect is expendable in Milwaukee, gives the Mets insurance at first base. If that’s not enough for the Mets, Milwaukee could add RHP Freddy Peralta to the package.

What do you think? Let me know on Twitter @NeilfromNYC and in the comments.

36 comments

  1. So how much money are the D-Backs kicking in on these deals? I wouldn’t do any of them unless they are paying at least half of his remaining salary.

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    • They’re not, reports say that they want to move as much of his salary as possible. Considering he still produces ace-like results and isn’t on a bad deal anymore, I don’t see why the other teams wouldn’t do them.

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  2. The team that needs Noah Syndergaard is the Atlanta Braves. The Braves could send near MLB ready pitchers Max Fried, Mike Soroka, and Christian Pache, all MLB top 100 prospects plus Rio Ruiz or Adam Duvall to New York for Syndergaard and either Brandon Nimmo or Michael Conforto.

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  4. As a Mets fan, i’m very glad you arent deciding the value for Thor in a potential trade. We would need to get some pitching back from the Padres, not Mackenzie Gore if we are getting Mejia and Urias, but guys like Michael Baez or Chris Paddack would make sense.

    Then you have the A’s giving up way more talent than the Brewers. It is so vastly lopsided team to team, that it is laughable. The A’s are giving us a great LHP prospect, a great young catching prospect and a couple of intriguing young players with a little bit of league time (at premium up the middle positions).

    You follow that with a dismal Brewers offer. Granted that Hiura will be an offensive stud, Ray has been a disappointment thus far (239 AVG with 176 strikeouts last year in AA) and Eric Thames???? Seriously, Eric Thames??

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    • The Mets already said that they expect to sign a

      Hiura is rising up according to many analysts and is expected to be a top 10 prospect in 2019. Considering his clock didn’t even start yet, he will then have as much as or more value than Syndergaard. Thames gives the Mets a 1B. I also specifically named pitching options as Milwaukee didn’t have enough expendable hitting ones.

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      • Actually they do, as they get elite talent in return for an injury-prone starter with limited years of control. Some of these offers are actually overpays. I’m not sure what you expect the Mets to receive in return, but they themselves said that they want young good hitters and these trades fit that.

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    • That’s a really good question. It would have to be a team that thinks that they’re one of the favorites to win the WS with Greinke, as Greinke’s age would still be an issue even if Arizona paid most of his salary, though it would help tremendously. Off the top of my head, Houston should really consider it, if this type of offer was on the table. Verlander and Cole are free agents next year, but a Verlander/Greinke/Cole top 3 gives them a great chance to win next year.

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  8. No. The Padres do NOT have enough depth at 2B to replace Urias. Making that trade would just open up another hole. Switch out Urias for Adrian Morejon or something and then we’ll talk.

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    • The problem is the Mets will expect elite talent in return and I see Urias as the main part of the deal. This is a good market for second basemen and the Padres can afford someone good. Besides, what if Urias doesn’t turn into into as elite of a talent that Syndergaard already is?

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      • Padres aren’t trading Mejia. He’s not just the best second baseman in their system, he is the ONLY second baseman in their system. It’d be just like 4 years ago when they traded Trea Turner. If they want to use the free agent market, they’re better off keeping Urias and signing a free agent SP. Pitchers would be more inclined to sign in SD than position players (pitchers park, get to work with Balsley, etc)

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      • They can always convert a shortstop into a second baseman. I’m not saying that trading Urias for Syndergaard is a great idea, but positional depth is not going to be the deciding factor. They have a great environment for pitchers but they can’t afford to compete with the big market clubs for aces in free agency, Syndergaard is very inexpensive for an ace.

        Personally, I don’t think that they’ll be contenders during Syndergaard’s current contract, so I don’t think that they should do this trade. That said, if they want Syndergaard, there’s no chance that they can get him without including good young positional players.

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      • “They can always convert a shortstop into a second baseman.”
        What shortstop?
        “.. but they can’t afford to compete with the big market clubs for aces in free agency,”
        Can’t afford to compete with the big market clubs for quality 2B’s in free agency either then.
        “That said, if they want Syndergaard, there’s no chance that they can get him without including good young positional players.”
        They can do that with including Tatis or Urias. You mentioned Renfroe and and Mejia for example. They could also throw in Morejon who can replace Thor in a year or two for the Mets.
        “For Syndergaard they definitely are.”
        No no no no no and again no.

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      • Gabriel Arias. They can definitely sign any of DJ Lemahieu, Brian Dozier, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jed Lowrie, Ian Kinsler, Scooter Gennett next year… none of those guys are going to cost anywhere near what they paid for Hosmer.

        I think Mejia fits perfectly, Morejon is a solid piece too. I just feel that the Mets will want more and they’re specifically looking for position players. Tatis is unavailable and the next best ones are Mejia and Urias and then you have a gap. I can see the Padres saying no but then another team will overpay instead.

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      • “Gabriel Arias”
        BAHAHAHAHAHAHA he’s like 2 years out, best case scenario. Urias is the Padres starting 2B on opening day 2019.
        “They can definitely sign any of DJ Lemahieu, Brian Dozier, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jed Lowrie, Ian Kinsler, Scooter Gennett next year… none of those guys are going to cost anywhere near what they paid for Hosmer.”
        Taking a look at the free agent list, there are way more SP’s available than 2nd basemen. The Padres probably get outbid for the top guys like Corbin and Keuchel but there are tons of other guys they could get.
        “I just feel that the Mets will want more and they’re specifically looking for position players.”
        Not a good idea to trade away a pitcher of Syndergaard’s caliber without getting a replacement, even if it’s just a potential replacement like Morejon. Anyway, they get two position players in Renfroe and Mejia and I’m not sure they would even want Urias anyway considering they already have McNeil and Gimenez.
        “Tatis is unavailable…”
        So is Urias.
        “… but then another team will overpay instead.”
        Let them.

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      • His ETA is 2020. The problem is none of those guys are aces and a rotation full of #3-4 starters isn’t winning much 9 times out of 10. Reports stats that the Mets are planning to sign someone to replace him and are trying to win now. Morejon is not a good fit by those standards. Renfroe is s throw-in as he doesn’t have much value. Mejia is great but not enough.

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      • The bottom line is it’s very hard to get an ace without overpaying, but I agree with you that San Diego should let someone else do that.

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      • Thor isn’t an ace either. Aces average more than 123 IP a season. The idea is Morejon could hopefully replace Thor in the rotation by 2021 and until then, they use their rotation depth to cover his loss and add two quality, cost controlled players at positions of need in Renfroe and Mejia. If they don’t have enough rotation depth to cover his loss, they shouldn’t be looking to trade him in the first place if they want to win now.
        At the end of the day, trading a Major League ready prospect who is basically the only answer at his respective position is not a smart rebuilding move and the Padres are still very much a rebuilding team.

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      • That’s the problem with Syndergaard, he seems to be injury prone. I agree with you overall, if the Mets plan to contend as they say then they need to keep him and start acting like a big market team in free agency. San Diego on the other hand, are not yet ready to contend and shouldn’t trade their top prospects for anyone with so few years of control, so I don’t understand why according to reports they want to do that.

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      • Thor has enough club control left that trading for him wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. But I don’t think the Padres should be looking to do that now. One year from now, Thor’s trade value will have depleted as he loses a year of control while the Padres’ prospects’ trade values will go up as they get another year of development under their belts. The only reason to make that move now is if they think someone else will trade for him if they don’t, which I’m thinking is pretty unlikely.

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      • I agree, they need to first start contending for the division and then trade prospects for established talent. You’re right about the value aspect as well. I do think that if the Mets are committed to reading him they will, but San Diego has elite pitching prospects who could turn out to be just as good as him, so I wouldn’t worry about where Syndergaard plays.

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      • With the quality and quantity of the pitching talent the Padres have in their system if they can build a quality rotation out of that something is very very wrong.
        But I digress. The Padres aren’t trading Urias for the same reason the Yankees weren’t willing to trade Gleyber Torres at the deadline last year. He is their starting 2B.

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      • Agreed, they should do as much as they can using their farm before even thinking about doing any trades. Well Torres is already a proven Major League bat, Urias so far didn’t show anything besides his potential, but I generally agree with you.

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