The New York Mets should not trade Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard

The New York Mets should absolutely not trade Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard.

The New York Mets have had an interesting 2018 season so far. They got off to a torrid start taking the league by storm. They leveled off and everyone was talking about the same old Mets. Lately the Mets have gotten things back together, putting up four straight wins. It’s never easy to be a Mets fan. But the hot takes are always around. With all of the “mainstream” media outlets around this town in addition to the blogs, hot takes are always in full force.

One comes from a paper here in the area known for its hot takes. John Harper of the New York Daily News posed the idea that the Mets should trade Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard to the Yankees. He believes that the prospects the Mets would get in return would make it worthwhile while a guy like deGrom could put the Yankees over the top.

With all due respect to Mr. Harper, he has been writing about the game for a long time. However, he is a bit off base on this one. The Mets should not trade Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard to anyone, but especially not to the New York Yankees. A move like that is not going to end well from a Mets perspective.

It’s not simply a roster issue. The Mets have to consider things more globally than that. Imagine if Harper is right, and Jacob deGrom and/or Noah Syndergaard were to put the Yankees over the top. Think about the public relations optics. The Mets send one or two of their best players to their crosstown rivals and they win a title? The Mets will get killed whether or not a writer like Harper admits it. That is a big picture problem.

More from Empire Writes Back

Let’s look at the concept of these two teams making trades. It simply doesn’t happen. To date, the teams have only dealt with each other 15 separate times. That’s not a big number, and none of these trades were blockbusters. There is a reason.

These two teams don’t like each other. They never have. Mets owner Fred Wilpon has complained publicly about how the Yankees do business. The Steinbrenners have never wished the Mets well. The late “Boss” never held any good feelings towards the Mets.

This just in, the Steinbrenner family still runs the team and Brian Cashman worked with George. Why would the Yankees give the Mets blue-chip anything? They will undoubtedly do whatever they can to short-change the Mets. An even trade will not happen, not even for those pitchers.

If the Mets are going to have any chance, the two ace-quality pitchers still in their 20s need to be part of the franchise. Giving them up is the white flag, and a big one. It signifies a complete rebuild. The owner will not likely approve that and the Mets aren’t likely to do it. It takes so long for players to develop in the minors it becomes difficult to commit to that type of rebuilding situation. They have to attempt to stay competitive.

Next: Don't rebuild, try something different

Finally there is the business perspective. As much as we want to forget it, sports are a business. They aren’t just players for us to cheer and/or boo. If deGrom and Syndergaard are gone the Mets are no longer a competitive team. Everyone will know it. If that happens, Citi Field will be a ghost town. Nobody will go. Like it or not, Mets ownership can’t have that. Therefore, they can’t give away their most attractive pieces.

Harper’s idea won’t likely be broached between the two teams anyway. If it was, however, what do you think? Is he right that the Mets should send these guys across town, or am I right? Sound off in the comments.

Home/New York Mets