The New York Mets started off the 2018 season with a surprising 11-1 record, but after being riddled with injuries they have dropped to a 38-54 record.
To make matters worse for Mets fans, assistant general manager John Ricco confirmed that the organization will listen to any trade offers for aces Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom.
“We’ll have to consider [it],” Ricco said on potentially trading one of the Mets’ aces. “For me, everything has to be on the table. But you have to look long and hard before you move a game-changing, top-of-the-rotation pitcher.”
With multiple starters on the disabled list and some starters struggling, the Red Sox could use either of those pitchers. In the best case scenario, the Red Sox would only have the prospects and young talent to obtain one of the Mets aces, and deGrom would be the best choice to pursue.
DeGrom is in the midst of the best season of his career, despite the Mets losing seven of his last 10 starts. Throughout his 19 starts, deGrom posted a 1.68 ERA and 0.973 WHIP. DeGrom has the second most strikeouts in the National League and is leading the National League in ERA. He is in the middle of his fifth season in the Majors and will not be eligible for free agency until 2021, which would give the Red Sox total control over his contract for three more seasons.
While deGrom sounds like the perfect addition to the Red Sox rotation, there are multiple setbacks to a potential trade.
To begin, while the Mets are listening to trade offers for their aces, it is likely they are not going to trade either of them. On behalf of the organization, Ricco said that they were not looking to trade deGrom and Syndergaard by any stretch, even going as far to say that in order for the team to deal either pitcher, the deal would have to be “overwhelming”.
Even if the Mets would willingly go through a deGrom trade with the Red Sox, the ‘overwhelming’ deal would cost the Red Sox more than they are willing to give. Boston would have to give up some of their best players in order to even come close to obtaining deGrom.
One trade candidate could be Drew Pomeranz, as he will be entering free agency at the end of this season. However, due to his struggles, the fact he would likely just be a rental player, and his injury makes Pomeranz an unlikely candidate for the trade.
Rafael Devers would be seen as a potential candidate in such a trade, but the 25-year-old won’t be traded this season, according to Jon Heyman of fancredsports.com.
Normally I would propose some sort of fictional trade for deGrom, but due to the lack of major-league-level prospects and players the team is willing to trade I personally do not think a fair trade for deGrom is even remotely plausible.
So while deGrom would be a big improvement for the Red Sox, actually obtaining him is close to, if not, impossible.
