The Mets made one big pitching trade, but need to avoid another

Ted Berg writes the Morning Win newsletter for For The Win. Email him at AskTedBerg@gmail.com. 

Sitting more than 10 games back of the Atlanta Braves and looking up at seven teams in a crowded NL Wild Card race with the trade deadline approaching, the Mets looked certain to deal away some veteran players to bulk up their farm system and retool for the future. Instead, they went out and traded a pair of prospects for Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman.

Just about everyone expected Stroman would be traded, but since contending teams like the Yankees, Astros, Braves and Brewers could all use rotation help, it initially seemed weird that the Mets would be the club to land him.

Still seems weird, matter of fact. It's weird. Stroman's a very good starting pitcher, but the 2019 Mets appear more than one very good starting pitcher away from contention, and usually teams with clearer paths to the postseason are willing to pay higher prices for established players at the deadline. But as Steve Gardner explained, it does make some sense.

For one thing, Stroman is not a part-season rental. He's under team control through 2020, and the Mets have quietly put together a good offensive core of young players like Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, and (the currently injured) Brandon Nimmo. It may not look like it from the way they've played at times this season, but the Mets could easily be contenders in 2020 if they do something about their godawful bullpen.

For another, taking Stroman off the market might add trade value to some of the Mets' other starters, like free-agent-to-be Zack Wheeler and would-be reporter-fighter Jason Vargas. By acquiring Stroman, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen took away one option contending clubs might pursue in lieu of his guys, so maybe he can hope to get more in return for those guys.

But there's been fairly widespread talk that the Mets' acquisition of Stroman is a precursor to their trading away Noah Syndergaard, and that seems like a bad idea. And, look: It always depends on the deal. If the Yankees decide for some reason they need Syndergaard so bad they'll give up Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, a half a billion dollars and a Derek Jeter autographed baseball, then, you know, you do that.

Syndergaard is a remarkably talented and remarkably marketable guy, he's under team control for the next two seasons, and he's enduring the worst season of his big-league career by ERA - in part, at least, because of some lousy defense behind him. Dealing him now would certainly feel like selling high.

And then there's this note from Joel Sherman in the New York Post, who writes: "There are concerns about being embarrassed talented players such as (closer Edwin) Diaz and Syndergaard, who have underperformed this year for the Mets, will be unlocked and flourish elsewhere. There is a particular worry about sending either to a more analytically advanced organization such as the Astros."

Let that bounce around your head long enough and you'll start smacking it against the wall. Did someone actually have this thought? You recognize that the Astros are simply better than you are at optimizing the talents of their pitchers, and so instead of figuring out why that is and how you can imitate it, you think, "well, better not trade this guy to the Astros!" If you know this guy could "flourish elsewhere" and isn't flourishing now, that's a really bad guy to trade.

The Stroman deal makes sense for the Mets if they're aiming for contention in 2020. Mets fans online are mad about it, but Mets fans online also get mad about free ice cream. In a sport riddled by tanking, actually going for it after a season like this one seems downright noble. But trading Noah Syndergaard would make for a pretty bad way to go for it.

Sunday's big winner: Zion Williamson

It's pretty much always Zion Williamson. The latest is that, per Pelicans vice president David Griffin, the 6'7″ forward is still getting taller. He's only 19, so that does make some sense. Rooting for him to just keep growing until he's like 7'5″ but still every bit as athletic and coordinated as he is now, making the NBA completely unfair.

Quick hits: Bauer, LeBron, Puppy

- Indians starter Trevor Bauer was so frustrated with a bad outing Sunday that he chucked the baseball clear over the center-field wall when manager Terry Francona came to pull him from the game. Bauer apologized after the game, but I'm honestly not sure why. He threw it into the batter's eye - the stadium feature, not the actual hitter's visual organ - from like 360 feet away, so it's not like there was any chance he was going to hurt a fan. Plus fans beg players to throw them balls all the time, and someone would probably be thrilled to catch that one. He looked kind of dopey for doing it, but it's a far cooler display of baseball rage than going full HAM on a water cooler or punching your locker and breaking your hand.

- LeBron James jumped into the layup line before his kid's game to throw down some thunderous dunks. I want to believe this has nothing to do with putting on a show for his son's friends and everything to do with LeBron just loving how fun it is to dunk and seizing every opportunity to do so. If I were LeBron James I'd spend pretty much all my time dunking.

- This is from Saturday but it's too fun to ignore: Jeff McNeil, aforementioned member of the Mets' surprisingly good young core, fell in love with a puppy he met before Friday night's game as part of an adoption promotion, then homered in the game and successfully convinced his wife that they should adopt that lucky puppy.