The San Diego Padres are interested in New York Mets’ Noah Syndergaard. Sound familiar?

The San Diego Padres are rumored to have inquired about New York Mets’ pitcher Noah Syndergaard…again. Could a trade come to fruition this time around?

First thing’s first — adding Noah Syndergaard to the San Diego Padres‘ starting rotation would be great for the Friars, both in 2019 and for years to come.

Now, back to reality.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network has reported that the Padres “inquired about Syndergaard’s availability” regarding a trade with the New York Mets:

And then, the Mets reportedly said they were open to discussions for the “right deal.”

Could the Padres provide such an offer?

The Friars have a young starting rotation that’s still trying to get its feet wet in the big leagues. Aside from Matt Strahm, who’s been unofficially moved to the bullpen, the oldest starting pitcher is Joey Lucchesi, who’s 26 years old and is only in his second major league year. Dinelson Lamet is also 26, only one month younger than Lucchesi, but he’s also in his second year due to undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018.

The remaining starting pitchers in order of oldest to youngest are:

1. Eric Lauer (24)
2. Chris Paddack (23)
3. Logan Allen (22)

Since last year, the Padres have considered adding a veteran pitcher to anchor this young rotation, looking into options such as Trevor Bauer and Marcus Stroman.

However, Noah Syndergaard, a.k.a. Thor, would be the perfect fit for the Friars.

While he isn’t having his best season to date — a 4.8 ERA, 3.98 FIP, and 1.278 WHIP are all career-lows for the Mets pitcher — we’re only halfway through the 2019 season. Overall, he’s had a downright impressive career with a 3.23 ERA, 2.788 FIP, and 1.157 WHIP over his five years in the MLB. He’s also coming off a 13-4 year where he hovered just around his career stat line.

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So, Padres fans know that adding Syndergaard would be a boon to the starting rotation.

Sitting at 40-50 in the National League East, and 7.0 games back from first place, this could be a great opportunity to snag the veteran while the Mets are at a low.

The questions are: what would New York want for him, and how much are we willing to give up?

The Friars farm is stacked and ranks as the best system in the league. If any team has prospects to trade, it’s the Padres, so let’s take a look at some of the options.

Pitchers

The Mets have struggled with consistent starting pitching all season long, particularly their inability to go deep.

SP Jason Vargas has averaged 5.1 innings in his last five starts, giving up 15 runs off of 22 hits. Before shifting into a reliever’s role, Steven Matz was averaging a lowly 4.2 innings over his prior five starts, surrendering 21 runs off of 28 runs.

To get Thor, the Padres would almost certainly need to package a starting pitcher with some prospects. This could include either Eric Lauer or Joey Lucchesi, both of whom have improved after some mid-season slumps.

Lauer had a 1.5 WHIP but a 3.71 ERA in June, giving up walks but staving off runs. Being three years younger than Lucchesi, the Mets might view him as having more upside as well. Joey Fuego, meanwhile, had an incredible May, rocking a 2.97 ERA and 0.758 WHIP. He’s settled down a bit since, but he’s shown that he’s more than capable of being of starter.

One solid pitching prospect to offer is LHP Ryan Weathers, who’s been playing well with the Class-A Fort Wayne TinCaps thus far in 2019. On the year, he has a 3.38 ERA,1.22 WHIP, and 54 strikeouts in 13 games. LHP Logan Allen could also be packaged somehow, having shown promise as a starter — including a stellar debut — while also providing relief depth, which the Mets could really use.

Position Players

New York could use some upgrades to their infield as well, mainly third base and shortstop. Their catcher, Wilson Ramos, is also 31 years old, and the Mets’ farm is lacking a catcher in the top 10 of its system.

The Padres could part ways with some combination of SS Owen Miller, C Austin Allen, and 3B Ty France. Miller has had a strong showing in the minors, hitting .303/.364/.434 with eight home runs through 81 games this year. He’s number 15 in our own mid-season prospects rankings, already playing at Double-A Amarillo and putting in work.

Meanwhile, Allen has raked in Triple-A El Paso, slashing .309/.379/.631 with 12 home runs through 28 games. He displayed some upside during his time with the Padres as well, hitting .262/.340/.333 through 19 games.

Finally, trading Ty France might rankle some Padres fans, considering he’s destroying Triple-A El Paso with a .379/.469/.797 slash line with 19 home runs in 49 games. He also filled in nicely at 3B when Fernando Tatis Jr. got injured and Manny Machado slid over to shortstop. He could prove to be a valuable trading chip for a team that signed Todd Frazier to a two-year rental only last year.

Potential trades

In the end, the Mets would require a sizable return in order to part with Thor, and understandably so. The Padres are flushed with prospects though, and if they believe that Syndergaard would help the team not only this year, but also in the next few years, then I’m on board.

With the above prospects, there are several combinations that could be valuable to the Mets. That said, the Padres would likely need to give up at least two top-30 prospects packaged with a starting pitcher in exchange for Thor and maybe a low-tier Mets prospect or cash.

This could include a package of: Lauer/Lucchesi, Weathers, and Miller/France; Lucchesi, Logan Allen, Austin Allen, and France; or Lauer, Miller, Austin Allen, and France. Personally, I’d be willing to make any of these trades for a veteran that can anchor the starting lineup for years to come.

Padres fans, what do you think? Let me know of potential trade ideas in the comments below.

For complete coverage on the San Diego Padres’ 2019 season, continue following Friars on Base all season long.