Does a Mets-Noah Syndergaard reunion actually make sense this summer?
2022 hasn’t exactly been the revenge tour-de-force that Noah Syndergaard, the man known as “Thor” was aiming for after spending nearly two full years on the shelf because of Tommy John surgery.
His 3.84 ERA is solid, and he’s made 13 starts so far for the Los Angeles Angels. But one thing that stands out about his season? A precipitous drop in strikeouts, the part of his game that made his name to fame. Syndergaard has just 55 K’s in 70.1 innings pitched in 2022, good for an average of 7.0 K/9, way below his career mark of 9.5. He’s just not missing as many bats as anymore.
There is one team who knows all about his strikeout stuff, though. That would be the New York Mets. And they’re a better fit for the Angels as trade partners than you think.
Proposing a trade between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels for Noah Syndergaard
Syndergaard signed for $21 million on a one-year contract with Anaheim last off-season, and Steve Cohen has made it clear he’d rather take on finances than surrender top prospects. But the Mets do have some interesting pieces they could dangle in trade talks, besides just absorbing a good amount of Thor’s remaining salary. New York could also use pitching reinforcements, because as we’ve seen with injuries to Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tylor Megill, there’s no such thing as too much pitching.
The Angels, meanwhile, have really fallen off since their early season hot start, including the firing of Joe Maddon during a 14-game losing streak. Their playoff hopes are bleak, at best, for the season even with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the roster. Selling seems like a better course of action to improve a bad farm system, rather than fix a roster with too many holes to make a run right now.
So what could the Mets offer the Angels for Noah Syndergaard? A package mixed with big league talent and prospects could suffice. Thor’s expiring contract (a rental) will keep the return lower by nature.
In this deal, the Mets pick up the rest of the tab on Syndergaard’s 2022 contract and in exchange, surrender Dominic Smith, a talented left-handed hitter with years of control left who has needed a change of scenery for years. He can get that in Anaheim, and he’d be an upgrade over Brandon Marsh in left field right now.
#16 prospect RHP Junior Santos is an intriguing power arm in Single-A who has future starter potential. We know how much the Angels value their minor league pitching, as they drafted a whole class full of pitchers in 2021.
Overall, this is a trade that seems to make sense for both ends. And if Thor actually does end up back with the Mets, well, let the intrigue begin!