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Could Atlanta Braves find pitching help by trading within NL East?

By Jake Mastroianni

JUPITER, FL - MARCH 01: Pitchers (L-R) Bartolo Colon, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler pose for photos during media day at Traditions Field on March 1, 2016 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FL - MARCH 01: Pitchers (L-R) Bartolo Colon, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler pose for photos during media day at Traditions Field on March 1, 2016 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 02: Zack  Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets pitches against the New York Yankees during their game at Citi Field on July 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 02: Zack  Wheeler #45 of the New York Mets pitches against the New York Yankees during their game at Citi Field on July 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Help from the Mets

In my opinion, it’s time for the New York Mets to blow things up and rebuild. They had their shot at a World Series back in 2015 and fell short.

Since then they’ve been trying to piece things together and haven’t been able to make it work. Injuries to their starters have played a big part in that, but they also haven’t been able to find the right lineup combination.

Much like the San Diego Padres did a few years ago when A.J. Preller took over as the team’s GM and he went for it, didn’t find success, so he blew it up and has rebuilt a future contender.

That’s what I believe new Mets’ GM Brodie Van Wagenen needs to do now.

With that in mind, what could the Mets offer to help improve the Atlanta Braves pitching staff?

As much as Braves fans might want it to happen, I just don’t see Jacob deGrom being an option.

The Mets just extended him for 5 years and $137.5 million through at least 2023. That’s too big of a contract to move at this point, and I don’t see the Braves taking on that contract, which has him making $35.5 million in 2021 and 2022 when he should be on his natural decline at ages 33 and 34.

That still leaves three options for the Atlanta Braves.

Zack Wheeler is the most obvious option and is gaining some steam on the Twitterverse. He’s from Georgia and would likely be a great fit.

He’s a free agent after the season, so he would be a rental and likely the cheapest option.

Wheeler is not having a great season with a 4.42 ERA in 114 innings, but he has 123 strikeouts and a decent 1.25 WHIP.

Health has always been an issue for Wheeler, but there is no questioning his stuff. The 29-year-old would easily be at least our third best starter.

Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are the two other options and both are under arbitration control through the 2021 seasons, which means they’ll also cost a pretty penny.

Syndergaard is probably the most attractive option as he’s had the most success in the big leagues. This season is shaping up to be the worst of his five-year career as he has a 4.56 ERA in 100.2 innings with 98 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.24.

But a change of scenery and a much better defense would help those numbers.

Syndergaard also has postseason experience from 2015 where he picked up the Mets only win in the World Series. He also tossed 7 shutout innings in a 2016 Wild Card game that the Mets ultimately lost to the Giants.

Matz would be my last choice of the group as he’s yet to put together a really good full season. The potential is there, but I think we have several internal options that are just as good that we won’t have to give up prospects for.

If I had to choose from those three, I’d trade for Syndergaard because of his ace potential and postseason experience. I think he would help us the most in the postseason.

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