Oakland Athletics: Could Noah Syndergaard be on his way to the Bay Area?

The Oakland Athletics could be looking to make a major splash and recent speculation indicates that they may, in fact, be in the market for star pitcher Noah Syndergaard.

The Oakland Athletics aren’t exactly a team known for making star-studded, high-profile acquisitions at the deadline — even when they are contending. Rather, Billy Beane and company generally prefer more cost-cutting, under-the-radar additions.

Case in point, the recent trade for longtime Cincinnati Reds starter Homer Bailey.

But recent speculation from the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser seems to indicate that the A’s could be in the market to acquire a huge name at the deadline. That player is none other than New York Mets star Noah Syndergaard.

Syndergaard has been one of the top pitchers in the MLB for quite some time now hosting a career 3.20 ERA that has been slightly inflated by a disappointing 2019 campaign.

But even though Syndergaard hasn’t been nearly as dominant this season, he should be one of the top names on the market — provided he becomes available. With the Mets struggling to a 46-55 record this season, they could be looking to sell some of their better players at the deadline.

However, Syndergaard would be an interesting trade candidate.

The 2016 All-Star is still only 26-years-old and has another two years of control before he hits free agency. Even given his down year, it’s hard to ask for a better possible trade piece.

But if the Mets are truly serious about fielding offers, they likely won’t part ways with their star for a run-of-the-mill trade package. Instead, any team attempting to trade for him must be willing to part ways with one or more of their own top prospects.

And that absolutely goes for the A’s.

It’s no secret that Oakland needs starting pitching depth. A rotation that looked shaky coming into the season has actually overachieved by most measures.

But the staff was dealt a severe blow when breakout star Frankie Montas was suspended for essentially the rest of the season following a failed drug test. Now, the A’s lack a true ace or even a reliable No. 2 starter and are instead left with a bunch of solid, but ultimately untrustworthy options.

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The acquisition of Bailey is more stopgap than anything and it’s unclear when we’ll see some reinforcement in the form of the likes of Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk, or Sean Manaea. That’s why acquiring someone like Syndergaard would be so crucial to this team.

Not only would he give the A’s a legitimate ace — down year or not — to help the rotation in the present, but he should also be able to fill that role for at least the next two seasons while he’s still under contract.

However, it certainly wouldn’t be cheap.

It’s very likely that the team would have to give up at least one of Luzardo, Puk, and catcher Sean Murphy as each rank in the top 34 on MLB’s prospect list. The Mets would probably want one of either Luzardo or Puk in exchange to replace Syndergaard, although Murphy could intrigue them as well.

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On top of that, the A’s would probably have to throw in a mid-tier prospect or two to seal the deal. So if the Athletics had to give up say Luzardo and a mid-tier prospect to get Syndergaard, would it be worth it?

There are two sides to that argument.

Some might view Luzardo as untouchable this trade season and point to Syndergaard’s recent injury history as a reason not to break the minor-league bank for him.

Others could view Syndergaard as the proverbial ace that the A’s have been searching for and that the team would be foolish to pass on such an opportunity.

Ultimately, neither is wrong. In fact, it’s crazy to think that we’re even having this discussion in the first place.

It still seems like a longshot that the A’s would make such a move, but you never really know with Billy Beane. Either way, the next few days should be a very interesting time for the A’s and the rest of the MLB alike.