Could The Twins Get Either Jacob deGrom Or Noah Syndergaard?

Earlier this week, it was announced that the New York Mets are willing to listen to offers on many of their players. Reports are even suggesting that successful and well-loved pitchers Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard are available.

So, would the Minnesota Twins have a shot at either of these All-Star arms?

Well, the first question is, should the Twins have interest in either of them? To this point in the disappointing 2018 season for the Twins, starting pitching has been the most consistent element on the team. José Berríos has been mostly good, Kyle Gibson has been better than expected, Fernando Romero has been a revelation, Lance Lynn has turned around his dreadful start, and Jake Odorizzi has been not terrible.

On top of that, Ervin Santana, Aaron Slegers, Zack Littell, and Stephen Gonsalves are all available should any of the five starters falter down the road.

So the short answer is “no,” the Twins should definitely focus their efforts on offense or relief help.

But it is still tempting to picture one of the big Met arms in the Twins’ rotation. And should one of them fall into the Twins’ lap, then one of those starters can just move to the bullpen.

So then the question becomes, is it even possible to attain either of the two young pitchers?

Well, deGrom is having a phenomenal season. He currently leads the majors in ERA and finds himself in the top-10 in both WHIP and strikeouts.

He’s also always been good. This won’t be a case of the Mets selling high on an occasionally good player, they’ll be selling higher on a player whose price has always been steep.

With Syndergaard, the cost would be a little less. He has been a phenomenal pitcher as recently as 2016 but is now in his second straight injury-plagued season. His ceiling, as he has shown, is very high, but his floor is also very low. But given the Mets’ lack of commitment, at this point, to a full rebuild, don’t expect Syndergaard to go for cheap.

Because the Mets trading these players would kick off a major team rebuild, the Twins would need to deal young talent. So don’t expect Brian Dozier and his expiring contract to be included. Instead, the Twins would likely have to throw in young pitchers and young hitters.

The aforementioned Slegers and Gonsalves would maybe have to join the list. As well as some young hitting prospects like Nick Gordon, Royce Lewis, and Alex Kirilloff. It seems logical that two of those players, plus at least one lower-ranked prospect, would be included in a deal for one of these players.

Another interesting addition to a potential trade is Miguel Sanó. Sanó’s troubles are well-documented at this point, so most teams would be hesitant to take a risk on him. But if the Mets see enough of a chance that he can turn things around and get back to the dominance he showed as recently as last summer, then that could definitely improve the Twins’ chances of making a big trade.

So the Twins would have to ask, is three years of a cheap contract for deGrom and four years of a cheap contract for Syndergaard worth many more cheap years on two or more prospects?

That depends on the team’s current window of contention. Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, and José Berríos remain the most promising players with major league experience that are likely to stick around. If the Twins think they can develop into World Series caliber players in the next three years before deGrom and Syndergaard likely get too expensive to keep in Minnesota, then these trades would be a great idea.

If they don’t think they have enough pieces to build around these pitchers, then a trade won’t even be considered.

This is all very hypothetical at this point. The Mets aren’t even sure if they’ll start trading pieces away, and the Twins are probably less sure if they’d buy in on either of these players. But it’s exciting to consider. It’s been ages since the Twins had a pitcher that’s been expected to pitch like an ace and has then done so consistently. That would certainly be a fun addition to a team that is already capable of being very exciting.

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