What’s next after the Mets shook up the trade deadline?

— The Mets are apparently going for it, which seemingly would take Noah Syndergaard, one of the best and most intriguing starting pitchers in the rumor mill, off the trade market. In the tight NL wild-card race, things can turn around in a hurry. Four days ago, the Mets were 46-55 with playoff odds of 3.9%. A four-game win streak has made their playoff chances a little more viable, though they’re still six games behind the Cubs, Cardinals and Nationals, who are tied for the NL Central lead and the two wild cards.

— With Stroman traded and Syndergaard apparently (maybe?) staying put, the starting pitching market is suddenly a lot thinner, especially with the increasing likelihood that the Giants will hold on to Madison Bumgarner. The Giants took two of three from the Padres this weekend to win their seventh series in a row and are just 2½ games back in the wild-card race. Are they a playoff team? Probably not — 23 of their next 26 games are against teams currently .500 or better — but I can’t imagine the Giants trading their ace and giving up on Bruce Bochy’s final season when they’re so close to a playoff spot.

— The big winner in the Stroman trade might be the Texas Rangers, as Mike Minor’s trade value probably just got a little higher. There’s no guarantee that the Rangers will trade Minor — he’s signed through 2020 and could be the Opening Day starter in their new park next season — but he now might be the best available starter, sitting on an 8-6 record with a 3.00 ERA in a tough hitter’s park.

Maybe all this leads to what could really make this a crazy trade deadline: What will the Yankees do now? They are arguably one starter away from being a dominant team.

Will anyone take New York’s prospects at the deadline? Domingo German allowed three runs in 5⅓ innings on Sunday, snapping an unfathomably bad run of pitching for the Yankees. They have allowed five-plus runs in nine consecutive games — an average of 9.8 per contest. Even including German’s start, Yankees starters have a 13.50 ERA in their past nine games, allowing 67 hits, 60 runs and 20 home runs in 37⅓ innings.

Has this nightmare stretch increased Brian Cashman’s blood pressure enough to make him more desperate to make a deal? Add that CC Sabathia landed on the IL with right knee inflammation, and factor in the rotation’s month-by-month ERAs:

April: 3.50
May: 4.07
June: 5.75
July: 6.32

You don’t need a doctorate in sabermetrics to know that’s not a good trend. Of course, Cashman doesn’t have to get a starting pitcher. Maybe Sabathia’s IL stint is more precautionary than anything, and maybe Luis Severino makes it back, and maybe James Paxton gets straightened out. German and Masahiro Tanaka have been pretty solid for the most part. Cashman could decide to add more bullpen depth and simply rely on the relievers carrying a big workload in the postseason.

Or he could go after Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks. Or maybe the Indians will be willing to part with Trevor Bauer if they can pry super prospect Deivi Garcia from the Yankees. Or maybe New York will settle for Tanner Roark from the Reds.

All eyes will be on Cashman, but the team that has the most on the line this week might be the Dodgers. After falling short in the World Series the past two seasons, they once again have the best team in the National League, though one with an obvious weakness in late-game bullpen consistency. The Dodgers are ninth in bullpen ERA, but that masks what has been a problem late in games: Their relievers are 25th in the majors in win probability added. It hasn’t been a clutch bullpen, which sounds all too familiar to Dodgers fans.

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