Syndergaard for Profar

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Profar, a one-time #1 prospect by baseball America, from Curaco, 21 years old, shortstop, switch hitter, missed all last year with shoulder injury.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/profaju01.shtml

Syndergaard, top 20 prospect, 22 years old, classic Texas power pitcher, meteoric progress slowed a bit in 2014.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=synder001noa

Mets: Need a shortstop.
Rangers: Need a pitcher.

Would you make this deal? Why or why not?
Discuss.

[Edgy MD]

I'm clinically trade averse. I avoid them before they happen, and get on board reluctantly after, so I don't do it.

But if I've got to make a trade, this is one to take seriously. Depends on what my scouts say about his shoulder. Dude had all the tools once upon a time, but maybe the injury turned him into a utility infielder.

[metsmarathon]

ooh, interesting...

i'd say to go for it depending on how the docs felt about the shoulder.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

yeah obviously his injury is something to watch. But this is the kind of thing they oughta look at doing.

Maybe they need to tweak it so that we also give up Gee and they include a guy we can start at AAA, or maybe even throw in Muffy and get a lefthanded reliever out of it too.

[Ceetar]

Profar's got a 2.000 OPS in the World Series. you gotta make that deal no?

[TransMonk]

Per Rotoworld (bolding mine):

12-04-2014 11:48:42 AM: Rangers GM Jon Daniels said Profar (shoulder) will be limited in spring training, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest reports.

I'm reluctant. He's been stagnant with injury for 2 years now.

[Edgy MD]

yeah obviously his injury is something to watch. But this is the kind of thing they oughta look at doing. Maybe they need to tweak it so that we also give up Gee and they include a guy we can start at AAA, or maybe even throw in Muffy and get a lefthanded reliever out of it too.

Alex Claudio.

JQnN-qZ3_aw

Fangraphs sez:
Claudio made his made his major-league debut at the age of 22 years and 194 days � the 15th youngest player of the 167 to do that so far in 2014. Generally speaking, prospects who enter the majors with such youth are doing so because they�re either (a) regarded almost universally as top prospects or ( a LOOGY. Claudio�s absence from McDaniel�s organizational list for the Rangers suggests that he doesn�t belong to the former category. And yet, even though he�s a left-handed pitcher, Claudio�s not a traditional LOOGY, either. Rather, his best pitch � or at least his most excellently strange one � is a changeup that sits in the mid- to high-60s, roughly 20 mph slower than his (rather slow) fastball. The changeup, of course, is typically utilized to neutralize opposite-handed batters. It follows, then, that if Claudio has an excellent changeup, that he�s also a candidate to neutralize platoon advantages.

In either case, here�s slow-motion footage of Claudio�s entirely slow changeup. Science indicates that, upon viewing it, one is able to travel backwards in time:

[Guest d'Kong76]

I took no, too risky taking on other teams guys that
can't stay healthy.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Maybe the wrong spot for this, but I was wondering this morning about the plausibility of a Francisco Lindor/Noah Syndergaard trade. The Indians like this Jose Ramirez guy and their former (current #1) could maybe be had. Profar has the higher offensive ceiling of the two, I bet, but Lindor is great defensively and healthy. YOU MAKE THE CALL.

[Frayed Knot]

Lindor or (a healthy) Profar are exactly the kind type of deals that they should be looking at.
Met fans have been hearing about Syndergaard for a while now and he is a legit Top-10 kind of prospect, but other teams have top prospects too and if you build your guy up to be an untouchable you're going to shut out a lot of possibilities.
The fact is that top prospects get traded all the time; the key is to pick the right ones to keep and trade and the right ones to go after.

[HahnSolo]

Profar is still only 21? Feels like he's been a prospect forever.

I'm still reluctant to part with Noah. That may turn out to be a mistake, but right now I say no.

[smg58]

You have to at least think about it. The question is whether the injury will compromise him long term.

I'd certainly consider Lindor as well.

[Guest 86-Dreamer]

I voted Yes, but more Yes to the concept of trading him for a high end SS prospect than Yes to Profar specifically.

[Vic Sage]

All this cautious "i'd do it if he were healthy" stuff ... yeah, well, no shit.

But the only way we even sniff a consensus #1 overall prospect like Profar, an incredibly young 5-tool middle infielder whose produced in the minors, is because he DOES have injury concerns. Absent those, there's no way Texas would do that trade. Of course it's a risk. You throw the dice, and if you win, you're set for at least a decade. Thor is a valuable commodity, but with Harvey, deGrom, Wheeler already in the rotation (and a bunch of good prospects like Matz and Montero still in the system), i'd take that shot. Because its not like pitchers don't get hurt (and at a significantly higher rate than position players). And this kid at his best is projected as better than Thor at HIS best, and at a position of greater need and scarcity.

[Chad ochoseis]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: Maybe the wrong spot for this, but I was wondering this morning about the plausibility of a Francisco Lindor/Noah Syndergaard trade. The Indians like this Jose Ramirez guy and their former (current #1) could maybe be had. Profar has the higher offensive ceiling of the two, I bet, but Lindor is great defensively and healthy. YOU MAKE THE CALL.

Here's the view from the Indians side, courtesy of a college friend of mine who grew up in Cleveland:

Nope. Jose Ramirez was a nice surprise, but Lindor is the second coming of Omar Vizquel. Ramirez will find a spot as a utility guy, or even at second base if Kipnis continues to decline. And while you can never have too much young pitching, we do have quite a bit of it right now.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Vic Sage wrote: All this cautious "i'd do it if he were healthy" stuff ... yeah, well, no shit. But the only way we even sniff a consensus #1 overall prospect like Profar, an incredibly young 5-tool middle infielder whose produced in the minors, is because he DOES have injury concerns. Absent those, there's no way Texas would do that trade. Of course it's a risk. You throw the dice, and if you win, you're set for at least a decade. Thor is a valuable commodity, but with Harvey, deGrom, Wheeler already in the rotation (and a bunch of good prospects like Matz and Montero still in the system), i'd take that shot. Because its not like pitchers don't get hurt (and at a significantly higher rate than position players). And this kid at his best is projected as better than Thor at HIS best, and at a position of greater need and scarcity.

All may be true but Texas has a kind of reverse problem we have in that between Sardianas, Profar, Odor and Andrus they have more young middle infielders than they necessarily can use at one time and wouldn't want to miss whatever opportunity to capitalize this presents. We're matched up! We have 2 pitchers from Texas to give ya! LETS MAKE A DEALSANDY!!!!!11

[A Boy Named Seo]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: Maybe the wrong spot for this, but I was wondering this morning about the plausibility of a Francisco Lindor/Noah Syndergaard trade. The Indians like this Jose Ramirez guy and their former (current #1) could maybe be had. Profar has the higher offensive ceiling of the two, I bet, but Lindor is great defensively and healthy. YOU MAKE THE CALL. Here's the view from the Indians side, courtesy of a college friend of mine who grew up in Cleveland: Nope. Jose Ramirez was a nice surprise, but Lindor is the second coming of Omar Vizquel. Ramirez will find a spot as a utility guy, or even at second base if Kipnis continues to decline. And while you can never have too much young pitching, we do have quite a bit of it right now.

Indians fans effing love Omar. If not him, JCL's right that there's a good matchup w/ Texas. I'd back Profar. It'd be another great young guy challenge trade (35% more exciting than Heyward for Miller).

I thought Texas was gonna try to use Profar at 2B last year (even though they have the unfortunately named Roughened Odor there, too). If they think Odor stinks, our lil fantasy trade don't go down.

[Edgy MD]

I love Omar Vizquel too. What I love about Vizquel is that he has about as low a profile as an athlete can get while still qualifying for a published memoir that got national distribution. But despite his long career (he got into 60 games at 45 years old!), he never had a defining nickname, never had a defining clever quote, never had a defining trademarked tagline that the play-by-play guy would shout when he did something notable.

So he ended up with the most forced book title in the history of sports memoirs.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Profar's already got an injury. Syndergaard-- like, like, 80 % of power pitchers these days-- has an elbow issue in his future, prolly.

Pitching prospect for equivalent hitting prospect? Oh, si. Pitching prospect from a big surplus pile for equivalent hitting prospect in need area? Oh, fuuuuuck si. (Pending a physical, natch.)

[ashie62]

No, I think we can do better.

[Edgy MD]

No was up 8-6 at the close of business hours yesterday. Yes now leads 11-9.

[Ceetar]

I voted no, but mainly because I'm concerned about his poor numbers in his major league career so far, coupled with injury.

Assuming similar projections, I'd rather the hitter over the pitcher. I guess it's just that I like "my team's guy" but would quickly get behind the other guy that suddenly became "my team's guy"

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Ashie62 wrote: No, I think we can do better.

Name a guy. Seriously, go nuts. One guy.

[TransMonk]

I've changed my mind over the past 24 hours. I originally voted "No", but would vote "Yes" now.

I was thinking about the starting pitching surplus today (oh, what a glorious thing to be thinking about in December!), and something is going to have to give anyway. If Profar is progressing and the medical staff anticipation is that barring setbacks he will play this season, then I would try to make it happen.

Is this an actual rumor that is circling or is this an internal WATP that we are debating?

[A Boy Named Seo]

TransMonk wrote: I've changed my mind over the past 24 hours. I originally voted "No", but would vote "Yes" now. I was thinking about the starting pitching surplus today (oh, what a glorious thing to be thinking about in December!), and something is going to have to give anyway. If Profar is progressing and the medical staff anticipation is that barring setbacks he will play this season, then I would try to make it happen. Is this an actual rumor that is circling or is this an internal WATP that we are debating?

I haven't heard it discussed IRL. I think it was just a JCL WATP, but a good one. I do think he was right, though, that we might have to include Muffy for this thing to really really happen and they could throw in '_________" back our way and BAM.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah I totally made it up, or you know, introduced it here after seeing it elsewhere, I think asking the question helped to put our possibilities into perspective a little, even if for whatever reason the Mets unable or unwilling to explore them.

[TransMonk]

Is Puma a lurker?

[Edgy MD]

Wow, it's like a comedy festival!

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah, ya gotta like comments like these in response to Puma claiming the Mets don't consider Andrus or Profar a possibility:


but they do consider Tejada. Guessing I won't be buying tickets this year again -- love to see this guy's comments if/when the price turns out to be Syndergarrd plus. He'll probably claim that because the Mets are trading away their young prospects that he won't be buying tickets again this year



I'm guessing I won't spend my money if they won't spend there's! -- I think we can let this one stand without comment

[Lefty Specialist]

Well, if he's going to have his shoulder checked out, it better not be by the Met doctors. Better they go to Walgreens and ask the pharmacist to take a look at him.

If the pharmacist signs off on him, I say yes.