Noah Syndergaard wants to stay with the Mets and has been very upfront about that.
"As of right now, I love being a Met," Syndergaard said Sunday, via MLB.com. "If something were to ever change, it would definitely be bittersweet just because New York City itself, the fanbase and just the guys in this clubhouse have a special place in my heart."
However, the Mets have shown no shyness in making deals under Brodie Van Wagenen, and they are likely to make one before the trade deadline. Considering Zack Wheeler may have lost some value after going on the injured list with shoulder fatigue, Syndergaard is the team's best trade chip.
Moving him may not be what the Mets want to do, but with the way the team is currently situated, it's probably what they need to do. What would a package look like for Syndergaard? With two years of team control remaining and his young age (26), he could net a lot.
Here's what the Mets could get in a deal with the Yankees, Astros and Padres
Yankees: Estevan Florial (No. 47 on MLB Pipeline), Jonathan Loaisiga (No. 96) and Chance Adams
This seems like a lot, but hear us out. MLB trades almost always are made with earlier deals in mind, so taking Syndergaard into account we have to compare to last year's moves. Chris Archer had three years of team control left at 29 years old and he somewhat underachieved. That trade netted the Rays a top-100 prospect in Austin Meadows, a former top-10 prospect in Tyler Glasnow and a fringe top-100 prospect in Shane Baz.
The Yankees will have to give up a lot to get Syndergaard and will likely take their top prospect in Florial — who is blocked in the outfield anyway — an MLB ready pitcher who is a top-100 guy in Loaisiga, and a guy who could slot into a rotation right now in Chance Adams, even though his luster has somewhat faded over the last couple of years. This might not be enough to get a deal done, but it's relatively close to what the Rays got for Archer.
Astros: Kyle Tucker (No. 10), J.B. Bukauskas (No. 97) and Bryan Abreu
The Astros do not want to give up Kyle Tucker for several reasons. He is still just 22, he's raking at the Triple-A level and, probably most important, George Springer's contract is up at the end of the year, Michael Brantley is under contract until 2020 and Josh Reddick's deal comes up that year, as well. Houston sees Tucker as part of the team's future. However, this team is in desperate need of a starter not just for this year, but for next year, since Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley could leave in free agency.
That could be enough to get Houston to move Tucker, though they already told the Tigers no on the young outfielder in a deal for Matthew Boyd. As for Bukauskas, the Astros already were willing to move him last year for Bryce Harper in a rental, according to several reports, so they may not have trouble moving him now. And for Abreu, he is very similar to Franklin Perez, who the Astros dealt to the Tigers for Justin Verlander a couple of years ago.
Padres: Luis Urias (No. 20), Adrian Morejon (No. 49) and Buddy Reed
The Padres could trade four of their top six prospects and still have one of the best systems in baseball. However, San Diego still may be a couple of years away from being the team to beat in the National League, even with the addition of a guy like Syndergaard. However, his addition could make the Padres a lot tougher to beat over the next couple of years and with the emergence of some prospects a trade could speed that up for next season. Maybe this is the time to move some of those top guys.
Luis Urias has struggled at the MLB level but he could still be good — the Mets just have to figure out whether he's Lewis Brinson or Clint Frazier. Was his one bad year a fluke or is it simply what he is? The Padres already have had discussions with some teams on Adrian Morejon, who was one of the best international prospects in the game a couple of years ago and has the potential to be a top-of-the-rotation starter. They ultimately didn't move him this offseason, but they have considered the deal. And Buddy Reed is still raw, but he has the potential to be very good.