Noah way BVW should consider dealing Thor
DON’T tempt fate. Learn from it. Finally, Mets.
Five weeks ago Brodie Van Wagenen vowed not to trade Noah Syndergaard. With the GM meetings beginning next week in Scottsdale, Ariz. he will be tempted by offers from other needy teams for the big righthander. Remember, Brodie loves the big splash.
Don’t give into temptation. Keep your word, BVW.
Keep Syndergaard like you said you would and make him better.
That process actually began with the hiring of Carlos Beltran.
If the Mets play their Syndergaard card right and show the same patience the Nationals did through the years with Stephen Strasburg, they could develop their own Strasburg in Syndergaard.
That is the best way to combat the competition in the NL East. Starting pitching remains the rock of the game. That is how you win championships.
Syndergaard was 10-8 this past season with a 4.28 ERA, even though he showed some amazing stuff and 202 strikeouts. It was just in 2018 that Strasburg was 10-7 with a 3.74 ERA before becoming the savior of the Nationals pitching staff this season and World Series MVP, going 5-0 (1.98 ERA) this postseason in five starts and one wild card-saving relief appearance.
Strasburg, 31, found another level with his multi-faceted changeup. He got better.
There is no reason Syndergaard, 27, can’t up his game. Getting Syndergaard to reach his potential must happen in 2020 for the Mets. That is the only way this team will finally make it back to the postseason.
There are plenty of lessons the Mets can learn from the Nationals’ march from wild card to world champions — hit the ball to all fields, become more aggressive base runners, play stellar defense — but getting Syndergaard to finally reach his potential like Strasburg did this season, will put them on the right course.
Remember, the Mets finished three games behind the Brewers in the wild-card race and one of those defeats , the most painful, was the pathetic 11-10 loss to the Nats on Sept. 3, when the Mets gave away a six-run, ninth-inning lead.
Syndergaard has issues with catcher Wilson Ramos and to his credit he brought those complaints to management, but management dug in its heels. That can’t happen again. From the start next season Syndergaard must be paired with a catcher he can trust, just as Terry Collins was the manager who paired him with Rene Rivera.
Ramos is here for another season and will not be replaced unless Van Wagenen can find a creative way to trade him. Ramos and Jacob deGrom have made their peace, so there is room to match up Syndergaard with a catcher who had a pitching-first mindset.
Also, with Beltran in charge, his experience of 20 years in the majors can help Syndergaard from the start by letting him know how he was tipping his pitches, and you can be sure the Mets believe Syndergaard was hurt by tipping pitches.
Somehow Syndergaard surrendered 94 earned runs this past season with superior stuff. Beltran will not only help Mets hitters in that department, but because he is so good at picking off pitchers’ tendencies he can work with Syndergaard on that aspect of his game.
Beltran can do the same for Edwin Diaz. That is a big part of the “how do we salvage Diaz?’’ plan.
That is a competitive edge the Mets lacked, but has now been brought into play with Beltran’s hiring. When Van Wagenen talked Monday about looking for every advantage and said Beltran will provide an environment in which players can look “for ways to beat the opposing team,’’ that is exactly what he had in mind with that statement.
Be proactive. Look for every advantage. Understand nuances of the game. Make Syndergaard better. Van Wagenen’s words were clear when the Mets’ season crashed to a halt.
“I think this group should be aware that Edwin Diaz is going to be on this team next year. That’s our full expectation, and Noah Syndergaard is going to be on our team next year,’’ Van Wagenen proclaimed.
Trading season is coming fast. Keep your word. Keep Syndergaard.
Help Noah Syndergaard reach his full potential. That is the deal Van Wagenen must complete.