MLB 2019

[gunnar hendershow]

My buddy lives out in Suffolk County so the Stroman homecoming talk was pretty nonstop the past few weeks. Being that he grew up there I'd have assumed him to be raised a Mets fan (some stereotype about Long Island being Mets country, North Jersey being Yankees country) so that part is pretty neat for him. But, man, what a fire to walk into upon coming home.

[Meacon Keaton]

Just a fun little thing: Jessica Mendoza, an...assistant I guess? to the Mets front office just said that Syndergaard is "out there" and if a team wants him prior to the deadline, he's out there for a team to get. I guess with them bringing in Stroman, I assumed it meant they were making a push for the playoffs, and I'm sure the Mets would never send him to the Bronx, but that could sway the odds big time in the favor of whoever ends up with him. 

[Gabriel]

7 minutes ago, Meacon said:

Just a fun little thing: Jessica Mendoza, an...assistant I guess? to the Mets front office just said that Syndergaard is "out there" and if a team wants him prior to the deadline, he's out there for a team to get. I guess with them bringing in Stroman, I assumed it meant they were making a push for the playoffs, and I'm sure the Mets would never send him to the Bronx, but that could sway the odds big time in the favor of whoever ends up with him. 

Report I just read said that the Mets are likely looking at Stroman as a replacement for Sydnergaard, believing that what they gave up for Stroman is less than they can get in return for Syndergaard, and thus, not actually impacting their farm system negatively.

Of course, now that the idea is out there, I would expect other teams who have interest in Syndergaard to hold off on offering a better return. I mean, if I'm sitting on the opposite side of this, trying to acquire Syndergaard, I'm looking at the Mets as a team desperate to move this player. You can't dangle a guy like that, keep him, and not have it negatively impact the relationship. They basically have to move him now, so why would anyone offer them anything crazy? Someone might, to try and make sure that they don't have competition for his services... but I feel like moving Syndergaard will either net them a similar return to what they gave up for Stroman... or someone will be desperate enough to blow them away with an offer... BUT, I feel like the former is considerably more likely at this point.

On the Jays front, I'm okay with the return for Stroman. It's not a fantastic return, but it makes sense. I'm excited to see if either of these guys get a shot at starting down the stretch here. I mean, why not? The team is desperate for pitching, so why not give these guys the opportunity to jump some spots in line when the season doesn't really matter? Hell, someone might pull a Jim Carey (NHL) and completely shock everyone.

[The Buscher]

1 hour ago, Gabriel said:

 I'm excited to see if either of these guys get a shot at starting down the stretch here. I mean, why not?

Kay might.  He needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter as he's Rule 5 eligible.  Woods-Richardson is a long ways away though, he's only 18 and currently in the Sally league.

At this point the Mets shouldn't trade Syndergaard unless someone backs up the truck (which seems unlikely).  I'm hearing people say the Mets really want Manuel Margot as the centerpiece from the Padres.  That would be awful.  He's a glorified Juan Lagares.  Trade Wheeler for a decent piece if you can, but you may as well just go into 2020 with a deGrom/Syndergaard/Stroman/Matz rotation.

The Blue Jays may have single-handedly killed the pitching market at the trade deadline.  If an All Star in Stroman went for two guys who aren't even on the top 150, teams aren't going to give up a top prospect for guys like Boyd or Minor either.

[DMN in the House]

7 hours ago, Trent Buschetta said:

It’s Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson...aka the only two good pitching prospects in their farm system.

It’s clearly a win-now move.  This franchise is a fucking joke.

I just...

Unless you can honestly tell me this move makes you better than the Dodgers or Atlanta, then what's the point? If you can't beat one of, if not both, of those teams in the playoffs, you're mortgaging your future for, at best, a first round playoff exit, and that's if you escape a crowded wild card field, because, let's face it, you're already 11.5 out.

As a Raiders fan, this is a classic bad franchise move. Like the Carson Palmer trade.

[The Buscher]

It also means they're quadrupling down on their strategy of building their team around starting pitching.  Yes their 2020 rotation would look nice on paper, but what happens when one or more of them get hurt?

And I say when, not if, because it's inevitable.  Pitchers are far more injury prone now than they were 15-20 years ago.  You simply can't build a franchise around pitching anymore.

[Toe]

Jays have also called up Bo Bichette after trading Eric Sogard to the Rays. So that's kind of exciting.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

9 hours ago, Trent Buschetta said:

Kay might.  He needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter as he's Rule 5 eligible.  Woods-Richardson is a long ways away though, he's only 18 and currently in the Sally league.

At this point the Mets shouldn't trade Syndergaard unless someone backs up the truck (which seems unlikely).  I'm hearing people say the Mets really want Manuel Margot as the centerpiece from the Padres.  That would be awful.  He's a glorified Juan Lagares.  Trade Wheeler for a decent piece if you can, but you may as well just go into 2020 with a deGrom/Syndergaard/Stroman/Matz rotation.

The Blue Jays may have single-handedly killed the pitching market at the trade deadline.  If an All Star in Stroman went for two guys who aren't even on the top 150, teams aren't going to give up a top prospect for guys like Boyd or Minor either.

I don't think this is the fault of the Blue Jays. Free agency over the last two years has shown that teams value their prospects more than anything these days. Teams just aren't going to give up the prospects they did even just a few years ago. 

[The Buscher]

21 minutes ago, Ms. Canadian Destroyer said:

I don't think this is the fault of the Blue Jays. Free agency over the last two years has shown that teams value their prospects more than anything these days. Teams just aren't going to give up the prospects they did even just a few years ago. 

For rentals yes.  But the prevailing thought the last few deadlines has been that guys who still have team control beyond that season could still fetch a nice return.  But with Toronto accepting what they did, the market has been set.

Funny that they nixed August trades which was meant to make July 31st more exciting, instead it might be the most inactive trade deadline ever.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

Last year, the biggest prospects to get traded were Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow. But when the Pirates traded for Archer, he had three years left of control. For just one year, you're just not going to get that quality of return. 

[The Buscher]

So what you’re saying is that the trade deadline is...

...dead

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

1 hour ago, Trent Buschetta said:

So what you’re saying is that the trade deadline is...

...dead

I wouldn't say it's dead. They've just re-drawn the...

line.

[The Buscher]

Now owners are apparently trying to push for an August 15th deadline so they have more time to determine if they are buyers or sellers.

Nah, shit or get off the pot.

[Meacon Keaton]

Sounds like the Mets are closing in on a deal to trade Jason Vargas...somewhere.

But it's not Wheeler or Syndergaard which means the haul they get back likely isn't going to be worth much. So I'm not sure if that means they'll keep Wheeler and Syndergaard now and move forward, or if they'll attempt to get some sort of prospect haul by trading one of them away and picking up another starter to complete their set? I don't know. I just don't know. 

[The Buscher]

It’s Vargas to the Phillies for a 26 year old AA catcher who is hitting under .200 for the season.

So essentially a salary dump.

[Meacon Keaton]

It’s to Philadelphia and in return, the Mets get a 26 year old who apparently can’t even hit .200 in Double-A.

Jinx ya owe me a coke

[The Buscher]

Vargas has been way better than anybody could’ve expected this year.  But had he stayed I feel like the Mets would’ve exercised his option and he would’ve gone back to being last year’s Vargas.  So it’s whatever.

[Meacon Keaton]

I’m just curious if that means they’ll hold on to Noah and Wheeler now. They’ve got their rotation, so if they were to trade one or both, they’d need prospects along with an arm or two for now. Which will make the return of prospects weaker.

It also sounds like the Mets are covering most of Vargas’ remaining salary this year and the buyout.

[The Buscher]

Mets are sending $2 million so yeah, that’s the buyout.

If they trade another starter, I’d expect they’ll just use someone like Walker Lockett who they got in a trade last off-season to cover the rest of this season.  Trading one of them is an indication that they’re not actually going for it so may as well just see what Lockett’s got.

Wheeler will be far less costly to acquire than Syndergaard.  I’m still going to be baffled if they trade Syndergaard for anything less than a couple of top prospects.  If they do that it’s going to validate the media narrative that the front office is just sick of his act off the field.

[Your Mom]

Any good Baseball podcasts you guys like? I've been listening to The Ringer Basketball one and it's gotten me way more interested in Basketball so I'd like the same for my fave sport