17
2012
What Will Mets Do With Wright and Dickey?
An article by Craig Lerner
I used to love checking out those polls they frequently conduct at MetsBlog and always enjoyed reading the results. But in the last two years, the majority vote seems to mirror the same opinions of the MetsBlog team. I find their poll results being too predictable now, and I think it’s because readers have more choices with new Mets sites sprouting up all the time. We love to visit the sites we like and mostly agree with, and we avoid the ones we don’t agree with. Eventually each site develops their own unique followings that take on the views and opinions of that site’s writers. Then there’s MMO where nobody ever agrees on anything, everyone engages in their daily battles, and where warring factions spend days, weeks and months arguing issues to death. 
Anyway, getting back to reader polls, MLB Trade Rumors have taken a particular interest in our dilemma over the uncertainty of the futures of David Wright and R.A. Dickey remaining with the Mets. I was excited to see them running a poll because I know the results would be a great indication of a broader base of fans and their opinions. I took a quick screenshot to share here with you. Check it out:
For the longest time I’ve been pretty firm that both Wright and Dickey would be getting extension deals, but only recently have I started to feel less confident about that. I now find myself leaning toward Joe D.’s position which has been that Wright will get a sizable deal and that Dickey gets traded.
MLBTR summarizes that majority view quite nicely:
CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman observed that while Wright and the Mets weren’t making much progress, “there’s always been a feeling something will get done,” as the Mets seem committed to keeping Wright as the face of their franchise for the rest of his career. Last month we heard the team was willing to offer Wright a deal worth around $100MM, so it would seem that length, not money, is the issue.
As for Dickey, his situation is much more complicated, befitting his unique status as a late-blooming Cy Young winner. Dickey has broken out as a star during his three years in New York, though at age 38, the Mets have concerns about how long Dickey will be able to continue his knuckleballing magic. The Mets have at least floated Dickey’s name in trade talks to see what he could bring back in a deal, as Dickey’s $5MM salary makes him a very attractive target for teams looking for immediate pitching help.
Now that I’m coming to grips with one or both potentially being dealt, I hope we at least get players back that will immediately help the team rather than prospects that are 3-4 years away. I don’t think this fan base can survive waiting until 2017 to get back to relevancy on the field.
About the Author: Craig Lerner
I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.
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At least one will not be here for opening day….
Dickey will be gone by opening day…Wright will either be traded during next season or leave as a free agent a la Jose Reyes. Write this down in pen.
Depending on market, Dickey can stay.. Move on from the CORE of 2005-2008, give the reigns to Ike Benjamin Davis and go after that championship with Harvey, Wheeler, Niese and Co….
I agree. Opportunity Cost. Rebuilding requires a new core. Dale Murphy, Earnie Banks, Ralph Kinner, Don Mattingly all stayed too long. Will DW be another Cal Ripken who was 22 in his 2nd playoff appearance and Riplkin’s next appearance was when he was 35. Tony Gwynn was 24 at his first playoff appearance and was 36 the next playoff appearance. Harmon Kilabrew played in one WS. Even the great Ted Williams appeared in only one World Series. Do I mean any of these icons should have been traded or traded sooner as Ralph Kiner and Harmon Kilabrew were traded late in his career) “No”.
My point is keeping an icon (Is DW in their category?) “NO” has its price of mediocrity.
I am in total agreement Alex.
Whether he is right or wrong and only time will tell, Sandy Alderson’s plan is to ride the coat tails of Harvey, Wheeler, Niese and hopefully R.A. Dickey. He has some depth there with Gee and Santana hopefully healthy and Chris Young. Add the core of Wright, Davis,and Tejada.and we have moved forward a lot.
Sandy will need to do some patching this coming year and hopefully see Kirk and Lucas mature a bit quicker. He patched the bullpen last year and there were some good moments but on a whole the patching failed.
We were thinking that a .500 season in 2012 was more than possible but if we had won just 7 more games…we would have made it. Yes, Dickey had a great year but Davis slumped badly for almost half a season and Wright with no protection behind him slumped in the second half
I hate the “what if scenario” but I see a bright future for this team!
Mets do a sign/trade David Wright and Brandon Nimmo to Toronto for Travis D’anard, AJ Jiminez and Anthony Gose
Reunite David with Jose Reyes
Put David in a division full of hitters parks…in a STUD lineup….
We get back a CF
We get back the catcher of the future and also another solid catching prospect to along with Kevin Pawlecki and Juan Centeno
We finally have a strength in an area that is a major weakness among most teams. we then deal some of these catchers for other positions of need
Toronto has their 3B of the future already.
I like your thinking!!
But with Toronto having Lawrie at 3rd perhaps you can replace Wright with Dickey and if needed add some low level pieces.
I doubt that Toronto is willing to deal D’Arnaud but you never know….
“Floated”–LOL! I favor keeping both Wright and Dickey (acquiring others to improve the team by spending another $10m. or so), but given the Wilponzian “frugality,” the latter may well be traded. I would keep Niese instead. Hopefully, we can get a good center fielder/leadoff guy + a young reliever, ready to pitch in NYC now + a young catcher who’s also ready for RA…….
i would support signing DW to a 5-yr deal for $100mm, so he’d play his last guaranteed Season @ 35. A longer deal with guaranteed $$$$$$’s would backfire. Both guys have been great Mets–on and off the Field. And RA is my favorite Met.
But, given our gaping holes at several positions (C, and really all 3 OF positions), i prefer and strongly favor trading RA–but only for major league ready or near-ready top prospects that would fill 1 – 2 of these gaps.
And truth is, i’d also rather trade DW for a few big-time prospects instead of signing him to a long-term deal that expires when he’s 35 yr old or older–dangerous territory for most players.
We need to replace roughly 1/2 the regular lineup–think about that. Instead of extending DW and/or RA, we should trade them, get value back, and use those ‘free’ $$$$$$’s in the FA market over the next 2 – 3 years.
That’d be my strategy if i decided these things.
I think the real question that should be asked is: What will Wright and Dickey do with the NY Mets?
The truth right now is that no one outside the organization really knows what’s going on. We all have our opinions, and thats all they are….OPINIONS. I think the NY Mets will offer both Wright and Dickey fair contracts after thoroughly considering ALL factors….age, production, durability, injury, how to fill hole if gone…etc. etc. Now I definately don’t think it will as much money as perhaps 1 -3 other teams would be foolish enough to throw at them IF THEY WERE ABLE TO SIGN THEM NOW AS THE METS ARE. That is what’s very important and should be a huge factor for both players to consider because niether can be certain that their performance in the contract year will be as good as 2012.
So I beg to ask – - – what will Wright and Dickey do with the NY Mets?
Thats the wrong Question….
The proper Question to ask is if the team isn’t good enough to win with a Cy Young Pitcher and Annual All Star 3B then why not and what can we do to fix the team so they ARE enough to get to the playoffs?
Too many people looking at what we can’t do with them and saying they are not worth having when in truth it’s the guys they are all planning to keep and use after Wright and Dickey goes that is the REAL problem here!
‘I hope we at least get players back that will immediately help the team rather than prospects that are 3-4 years away’
Don’t we all.
Problem is the reasons some are giving for trading one or both:
- Dickey’s age
- Dickey’s a one trick pony
- Wright’s regressing
- Wright’s lazy and/or choke artist
- Neither are worth the money
..if true, will be the same reasons GMs might not be giving the Mets the boatload of prospects some expect to get.
You can’t state they’re not worth it, then expect to trade either for a high return as if they are.
If your argument is they’re both worth it but what’s the point as we won’t be competing for some years and better to rebuild, then that’s a different argument. One that has some legitimacy.
It would be logical to keep both DW and RA IF the Mets were contenders and/or , with Harvey for a full year & Wheeler shortly afterwards, would vie for the Division. But that’s not the case. DW has flaws, sure, but all-in-all, he’s produced. My point is why ‘waste’ $100mm on a player–to paraphrase Branch Rickey–we finished out-of-the-money with since 2009?
i could see keeping RA for a reasonable 3-year guaranteed deal, since he’d be a great mentor to our young hurlers and probably still very good for at least 2 of those 3 years, and you never have enough pitching, et cetera.
But i’d trade DW, hands-down for a package of major league ready or near ready prospects. We have too many gaps to fill to sign both of these guys to extended deals.
Get superior prospects in return and use those ‘free’ hundreds of $MMs to bring in FA’s over next 2 -3 years.
Agreed. We undervalue them for the contributions to the team, then overvalue them in trade value.
Alderson will do what he’s been doing and purge the team of two more all stars. What’s that like 7 or 8 All Stars gone? That’s what he will do. Meet M. Donald Grant.
Did anybody think about the idea that Sandy has some good/great offers for both and gave Wright and Dickey a deal to think about untill Thanksgiving?
Here is what they will do:
1. trade one or both of them
2. sign one or both of them
3. let one or both of them go into the season without an extension
It is all speculation. We will know when something gets done. Other than that it is just someone writing that a Met “source” said whatever.
Trade Dickey to fill our offensive hole, Johan, niese, gee, Harvey, wheeler is a solid starting five and we can hope for Upton or a package from Toronto based on their catchers.