Noah Syndergaard may have unintentionally sparked trade rumors by tweeting that pitching in Fenway was a childhood dream following a win over the Red Sox.
Watching Noah Syndergaard carve up the Boston Red Sox lineup over seven scoreless innings Friday night left us wishing that the talented right-hander was wearing our team’s uniform. Maybe the same thought has crossed Syndergaard’s mind?
In the wake of leading the New York Mets to victory, Syndergaard took to Twitter to express the surreal experience of pitching at Fenway Park for the first time in his career. He reveals that pitching in the historic ballpark was a childhood dream of his and wraps up by praising the franchise and the city of Boston.
So.....Fenway was a sureal ballpark to pitch in.....from a childhood dream perspective......As visiting pitcher on a team and city I love.....#dontfreakout
— Noah Syndergaard (@Noahsyndergaard) September 15, 2018
Queue the trade rumors. While this hardly constitutes a trade demand, Syndergaard’s admiration for the Red Sox, Fenway and Boston leaves us salivating over the possibility of luring him to town one day.
Syndergaard is 12-3 with a 3.26 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 9.2 K/9. He’s struggled with injuries the last two years but was an All-Star in 2016 when he finished eighth in NL Cy Young voting.
Trading for Thor would be met with thunderous applause by Red Sox Nation. It’s the type of bold move that Dave Dombrowski is famous for. Drew Pomeranz and Nathan Eovaldi could both leave after this season, potentially opening a spot in the rotation. David Price could opt-out of his deal this winter, no matter how many times he claims he doesn’t intend to. The futures of Chris Sale and Rick Porcello remain uncertain beyond 2019.
Exploring the trade market for an affordable pitcher with several years of control remaining may be a viable alternative to dishing out another lucrative deal for a free agent starter. Syndergaard is earning only $2.975 million this season. He’ll get a significant bump next year in his first taste of arbitration but will undoubtedly remain a bargain in the short term.
The affordable salary and years of control are also reasons why the Mets may not make him available this winter. However, it’s not as if this team is close to contention. If New York doesn’t expect to become a threat in the NL East within the next few years then they have to at least consider trading the few stars they have. Those players lose value every day they hang on to them.
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Even if the Mets do decide to trade Syndergaard, there’s still the question of whether the Red Sox can afford the hefty asking price. Boston’s farm system isn’t exactly overflowing with blue chip prospects.
Would the Mets consider a package built around Rafael Devers? His value has taken a bit of a hit during his sophomore slump but the young third baseman still has a sky-high ceiling in the long run. We’re seeing this season that a contending Red Sox team doesn’t have the patience to stick with him everyday through his growing pains, which may make Devers more expendable than we thought. Boston could use Eduardo Nunez or another low-cost veteran to hold the fort at the hot corner until Michael Chavis or Bobby Dalbec is ready to take over.
The tweet wasn’t intended to be used by Syndergaard as leverage in any potential trade talks. He was merely expressing his excitement over taking the mound in one of baseball’s most historic ballparks. Still, it’s hard for fans not to get excited about a star pitcher saying he loves this city and was thrilled to be able to pitch at Fenway.
Syndergaard isn’t currently on the market, so as the hashtag says, don’t freak out. That could change over the winter though and you can expect the Red Sox to inquire about the possibility.