Steve Cohen loses another pitcher to Angels: Should Mets be worried?

The Angels have signed former Mets pitchers Noah Syndergaard and Aaron Loup in the past week.

In one week, the New York Mets have hired a GM and lost two important pitchers to the Los Angeles Angels.

First, the Angels signed Noah Syndergaard to a one-year deal, and now they have poached lefty reliever Aaron Loup and signed him to a two-year, $17 million deal with a club option for a third.

Until now, Syndergaard’s entire big-league career was spent with the Mets. He debuted in 2015, and compiled a 3.31 ERA over 119 games between his debut and 2019 season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in spring 2020 and returned at the end of September to make two starts.

Loup only spent one season with the Mets but was excellent for them. He posted a 0.95 ERA over 65 appearances in 2021, including closing six games and starting two. His 56.2 innings of work were his most since 2017 by a significant margin, and he lowered his hit and home run rates while increasing his strikeout rate.

The Angels have been mired in mediocrity for years, with never enough pitching to contend. That’s clearly about to change.

Mets losing two pitchers to Angels under Steve Cohen should raise some flags.

Meanwhile, the loss of two pitchers speaks volumes about the ongoing internal struggles in New York.

Syndergaard said last week that he barely heard from the organiation over the last two months, and now the Angels have signed Loup to a deal his former franchise absolutely could’ve afforded to match. It had been reported that Loup wanted to stay with the Mets, which makes his departure all the more embarrassing for the franchise.

While other franchises are taking steps forward, the Mets are only falling further behind.