Milwaukee Brewers Rumors: Crew Team To Watch On Noah Syndergaard

In a new round of Milwaukee Brewers rumors, the Crew is reportedly one of the teams to watch for in a potential trade of Noah Syndergaard.

According to Andy Martino of SNY.tv, the Milwaukee Brewers have shown some interest in Syndergaard, along with the Colorado Rockies. However, Martino notes skepticism that the Rockies could put together a strong enough package to land Syndergaard.

It’s been known for some time that the Brewers are looking for starting pitching. After failing to find an ace last winter and not landing one during the July deadline, GM David Stearns is still on the hunt.

Why Are They A Team To Watch For Syndergaard?

Syndergaard, 26, is under team control for three more seasons and is just entering his prime. When healthy, he has everything you could want in a frontline starting pitcher. The only thing he doesn’t have is the track record of health.

Last year, Syndergaard posted a 3.03 ERA in 25 starts covering 154.1 innings. His 2.80 FIP shows that Syndergaard actually pitched better than his ERA would indicate. Baseball-Reference had him pegged at a 4.0 WAR in 2018.

He fits the profile of the kind of player David Stearns would want. Young, controllable, and talented players are also worth a lot more. The Milwaukee Brewers paid a high price to acquire Christian Yelich last winter. Would they do the same thing again this winter?

What Will Syndergaard Cost?

Given Syndergaard’s injury history, the Brewers would be right to attempt to hold top prospect Keston Hiura out of negotiations. There’s a lot of risk in assuming Syndergaard will stay healthy enough to be worth the investment. The Brewers could try to focus on their second-best prospect instead, outfielder Corey Ray.

Packaging Ray with one of the young pitching prospects like Freddy Peralta or Brandon Woodruff along with a couple throw-ins might be good value in a Syndergaard trade.

On the other hand, there are a lot of teams talking to the Mets about Syndergaard and a bidding war will drive up the price. If David Stearns is to win that bidding war, Keston Hiura will likely have to enter the negotiations.

The Mets would be smart to ask for Hiura, as he’s a strong hitter that’s close to big league ready, which is what they want in return for Syndergaard, and he’s one of the best prospects in baseball. For an ace-level pitcher with several years of team control during his prime, that’s what it should cost in a trade.

The injury concerns are going to be what holds teams like the Brewers back. It’ll come down to who David Stearns thinks has a better chance to be an impact player over the next couple seasons for the Brewers: Keston Hiura or Noah Syndergaard. If he thinks Syndergaard will have a bigger impact than what Hiura would bring, then he’d include him in the deal. If he thinks Hiura will have a bigger impact than Syndergaard, he’ll hold on to him.

Stearns leaves no stone unturned during the offseason. If there’s an ace-level starting pitcher he thinks would help the Milwaukee Brewers and not hurt them in the long run, he’ll make that move. Until then, all we can do is wait.