Could Baseball's Thor Be Heading To The South Side?

The Hot Stove is burning folks. A few days ago, the Yankees made a trade for Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton as they look to bolster their starting rotation. Now new reports are starting to surface that the New York Mets might trade ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard.

Who the 6 teams Heyman is referring to is unknown currently, but with the A.L. Central looking as weak as it has in a while, don't be surprised if one of those teams is the White Sox. But is it even worth it for them to make a trade for Syndergaard right now? Let's look at both sides of the argument.

Reasons The White Sox Should Make This Trade

Michael Kopech's Injury

The White Sox world seemed to stand still the day news broke that Michael Kopech needed Tommy John surgery. What looked like a promising rotation in 2019 now has more questions than answers. Can Carlos Rodon stay healthy a full season? Can Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito pitch more consistently? What will Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning look like when they are eventually called up? If the White Sox do decide to put all of their chips into the center of the pile, they could grab Syndergaard, stay competitive in the Central in 2019, and then go for it in 2020 with a starting rotation of Rodon, Thor, Kopech, Cease, and Lopez/Dunning/Giolito as your 5th.

Syndergaard's Contract

2018 was the first year of arbitration for Syndergaard, which means he has 3 years left until he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2021 season. Rick Hahn is a master at contracts, and might try to sign Thor long term if a deal were to go down, although it is unlikely he would agree to one. If the White Sox can nab one of Bryce Harper or Manny Machado in free agency this winter, it basically means the White Sox are going for it all in the next 3 years before Syndergaard is due for a big time payday. If the White Sox don't sign Harper or Machado, then resigning Syndergaard becomes much more likely.

Reasons The White Sox Should NOT Make This Trade

Syndergaard's Injury History

Thor has had a decent amount of injuries in his career thus far. In 2017, he had to be placed on the 60-day DL due to a torn lat in his right arm. Then in 2018 he missed all of June with a strained ligament in his right index finger. Then just a few weeks after being reactivated, he went on the DL for the 3rd time in his career due to Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Synderaard has come back strong from all of these injuries, but it is still a valid cause for concern.

Is It Just Too Soon?

The White Sox Could be a good team in 2019, but right now it is way too early to tell. Like I said earlier, if the White Sox can nab one of the big fish this off season (Harper and Machado) then you could definitely make the argument to do it. But for the White Sox, it would make more sense for a deal of this magnitude to take place after the season has began so they have a better idea of what they really have.

Is It Worth The Cost?

This piggy backs to my last point about how the White Sox don't really know what they are yet. The Mets will want a lot for Syndergaard. Likely Luis Robert or Dylan Cease as a headliner. Maybe both. Some teams would be willing to pay that price, but they are the known contenders who are already in their prime contending years. The Houston Astros come to mind here. They could send a package surrounding top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley. Ideally, the White Sox could sign Harper and then trade away a package of OF prospects like Blake Rutherford and Luis Basabe and then throw in Dane Dunning. But even that probably wouldn't get a deal done for Thor, which is why I think this scenario is just way too unlikely to actually happen.

Final Thoughts

While there are some good reasons pointing to why the White Sox should try and get a deal done for Syndergaard, there are just too many factors why they should NOT do it. Their rotation will still be very solid if not elite in 2020 with Rodon, Kopech, Lopez, Cease, and Dunning. I still think the quickest way the front office can turn this team into a contender is to sign one of Harper or Machado, and then trade from their surplus of prospects for more help when we know for a fact that they team is ready to contend. For now, I wouldn't buy into the Noah Syndergaard talk. Focus on the Harper/Machado rumors instead.