MLB Trade Rumors: Where could Jacob deGrom get traded?
Jacob deGrom leads the National League in ERA, yet is only 4-1 this year, with the Mets looking like they may need a full rebuild, who could trade for him?
Jacob deGrom is having a Cy Young type year. He has arguably been the best starter in the National League this year, yet he just has a 4-1 record. He leads the National League in ERA with 1.57 and is second in strikeouts. Max Scherzer, on the other hand, is second in ERA and first in strikeouts. The biggest difference between them, Scherzer has 10 wins while deGrom has just 4.
By no means is deGrom at fault for any of this. The Mets are wasting away his starts. Discounting May 2nd and 13th, when his outing were shortened due to injury, deGrom has surrendered 1 or less earned runs in 8 of his 11 starts. In those games, he has just 3 wins and the Mets have a record of 4-4, with 2 of those wins coming in his first 2 starts. During his last 5 starts, the Mets are averaging 1.8 runs per game. Over the same time span, the Mets have scored 71 runs over the 23 games, an average of just over 3 runs per game. Remove deGrom’s starts and it is 3.44 runs per game.
The Mets are holding deGrom back. With the 12th oldest roster in baseball, there is speculation that the Mets could trade deGrom and potentially Noah Syndergaard. They would look to return a sizable haul of prospects that could help them compete for years to come. These teams could trade for him.
4. San Diego Padres
This deal wouldn’t reap its rewards this year. The Padres are likely out of it this year, despite being a nearly top-10 offense in the month of June thus far. That being said, the Padres are committed to truly going for it right now and in the near future. Signing Eric Hosmer to an absurd contract told the world that they wanted to go for it. Granted, it hasn’t come together next year, but they are hoping it can next year.
They are planning on Fernando Tatis Jr. and their young pitchers being able to come up to help them be competitive next year. Bringing in deGrom would give all of their young pitchers a role model who knows how to get MLB hitters out. Not to mention, the Padres have great pieces that they can use to trade for deGrom.
A package revolving around Mackenzie Gore and Luis Urias would make both sides very happy. Gore would essentially be replaced by deGrom in the Padres plans, giving them someone who they know will work out. Then, Urias could become a long term middle infield partner with Ahmed Rosario for the Mets. From there, the Padres could include players like Anderson Espinoza and Tirso Ornelas to round out the deal. This trade would set the Mets up for the future and the Padres for the next 2 years, the years they have been planning on winning in.