L.A. Angels' Noah Syndergaard could get traded to the Cardinals

While the Mets probably aren't going to pursue a reunion with Syndergaard, it would be quite the storyline if he ended up with the defending World Series Champion Braves, who are trying to catch his former team in the National League East. Syndergaard would become the No. 3 starter in a rotation that already includes All-Star Max Fried and emerging star Kyle Wright. If all went well, the Braves have $15 million coming off the books with Charlie Morton this offseason that general manager Alex Anthopoulos could use towards re-signing Syndergaard if he felt so inclined.

Kevin Gausman and Alek Manoah have been excellent in 2022, but Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi have disappointed and Hyun-jin Ryu is out for the season. Even at 50-43, the Blue Jays find themselves in third place in their own division and just hanging onto the final Wild Card spot in the American League. The Blue Jays entered the season with World Series aspirations, but Ross Atkins will have to bolster the roster for them to have a realistic chance to make a deep run this postseason. Syndergaard would be a nice addition.

This would be another difficult one for Mets fans to swallow, but the fit actually makes quite a bit of sense. A right knee injury has derailed Zach Eflin's 2022 season, and Ranger Suárez and Kyle Gibson are probably more like No. 4 starters on a playoff team. The Phillies have one of the league's best one-two punches with Aaron Nola and Syndergaard's former Mets teammate Zack Wheeler. The addition of Syndergaard -- and the expected returns of Bryce Harper and Jean Segura -- could help the Phillies to reach the postseason for the first time since 2011.

Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox will enter the second half of the regular season on the outside looking in, both in the AL East and Wild Card race. But at 48-45, they remain within striking distance of one of the three Wild Card spots, and may be inclined to push some chips to the center of the table in 2022 given the uncertain futures of Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi, among others. Syndergaard would upgrade a rotation that currently has three starters on the injured list, and if the Red Sox acquire him, another AL Wild Card contender can't.

Many of the top arms that could be available in the coming weeks -- Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle and José Quintana -- already play in the NL Central, so if all things are equal, their current employers would probably prefer to trade them out of the division. That could force the Cardinals to be extra aggressive on some of the other options on the trade market, such as Syndergaard. The Cardinals have been without Jack Flaherty (right shoulder strain) since late June, and could stand to add another arm to a rotation that also includes the ageless Adam Wainwright and All-Star Miles Mikolas. Certainly, a team built around Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado is built to win right now, and Syndergaard would fit with that direction.