Noah Syndergaard Reportedly "Making Progress" on a Deal with the Angels (UPDATE: It’s Happening) – bleachernation.com

Folks, things are off to the races. We wondered if Eduardo Rodriguez yesterday would open things up, and sure enough, were off and running now.

Jose Berrios just signed a monster extension with the Blue Jays, and Noah Syndergaard qualifying offer attached, and barely having pitched the last two years is possibly going to be next:

To be sure, once Syndergaard got the qualifying offer, I figured the Cubs were probably out. They were not going to want to give up the high second rounder, the bonus pool space, and the IFA space just to sign Syndergaard to a short-term, high-AAV deal (which is the kind of deal that makes the most sense for Syndergaard, in my opinion). So I was already bummed.

Well see what kind of deal he signs, if it gets to the finish line with the Angels. It makes a lot of sense for them, given their core, his age, and his upside. They arguably need to take huge risks like this on the pitching side, and my guess is they were willing to give him a surprisingly large deal that no other team was going to touch right now.

If the pitching market is exploding right now, and is going to move before the CBA expires, then heres hoping the Cubs are ready to pounce on preferred targets if their market gets to a point where theyre going to sign one way or another. The Cubs cant afford to miss out on the guys they like most just because they prefer to wait for the CBA to be resolved.

UPDATE: Wow, well, I was right that it could be a deal no other team was going to touch, but not in the way that I thought:

I really loved Syndergaard for the Cubs on a one-year deal. He was going to be my absolute number one target for the offseason. But once he got the qualifying offer, the cost to sign him to a one-year deal went up considerably for the Cubs, a high second round pick, the bonus pool space tied to that pick, and then $500K in IFA money. Thats a lot of prospects lost to sign a guy to a one-year deal when youre just hoping to be the team to bounce him back. The Cubs have short-term money to use on signings, and thats what I want to see them do not necessarily give up more prospect costs for short-term additions.

UPDATE: Its happening, and its for over the qualifying offer amount (as youd expect):

Given the Angels roster, it makes sense for them to ball out on a one-year starting pitcher, more than almost any other team. That said, paying that high of a price, plus the compensatory costs, for a shot at a guy who has essentially not pitched the last two years its about as risky as a one-year deal can get. They say there are no bad one-year deals, and that may still be true. But this is as close as it gets.

THAT SAID I really like Syndergaard, and I think he could be very, very good once hes fully clear from surgery. Its not like hes old, and when he was healthy, he was an absolute stud.

You can expect now that the Angels could go after another qualified free agent, since the cost for doing so drops (third highest pick).

More here:

Noah Syndergaard Reportedly "Making Progress" on a Deal with the Angels (UPDATE: It's Happening) - bleachernation.com