14
2012
Will Trading Dickey Really Help The Mets?
An article by 
The latest speculation has the Mets shopping R.A. Dickey for a power hitter, but I wonder if it would really improve them, both in 2013 and/or the future.
I don’t know what the Mets could actually get for Dickey, because there are some red flags for a team interested. Let’s face it, he’s a knuckleballer and there’s still a stigma that it’s a gimmick pitch hard to control. And, last year was his best at age 38, and want to bet some teams believe that to be a fluke?
- It’s not fair, but such thinking does exist.
Another factor is that Dickey is not signed beyond 2013. Any team that deals for him would have to be given an opportunity to negotiate with him, and if he’s determined to be a free agent that won’t be a breeze. I also don’t see many teams trading a young slugger for a 38-year-old pitcher, who, before last season was a journeyman.
If Dickey is dealt – and last year wasn’t a fluke – then the Mets’ rotation would be considerably weaker. Johan Santana broke down at the end of last year and I’m not counting on him pitching to the worth of $25 million. Jon Niese is a No. 3 starter until he proves otherwise and if Santana falters he would move to No. 1. Dillion Gee is coming off surgery and Matt Harvey has a limited resume.
The rotation, save a healthy Santana, is far more potential than proof.
If Dickey is brought back and duplicates last season, I would argue he is more valuable than a power hitter to the Mets. With a gaping hole in their rotation, would a hitter really make that much of a difference?
And, should the Mets trade Dickey, then the Mets would have to replace him, either this coming season or next.
There are three ways to build a team: 1) the farm system, 2) trades, and 3) free-agency. GM Sandy Alderson is saying the Mets are more prone to build through trades, but realistically, do they have much to offer outside their young pitching prospects, Harvey and Zach Wheeler?
There is Ike Davis, but why would they trade a 32-home run bat even up for another hitter, especially considering Davis’ age and reasonable salary?
I’m of the belief it is more important to build a team around pitching than it is power. Just look at the 2010 and 2012 San Francisco Giants, and compare them to the Yankees of the past three seasons. History is full of examples of power laden teams that hibernate during the playoffs.
The wild card in how the Mets build is their finances. If they keep their rotation intact and add an outfielder in free-agency that would be their fastest route to competitiveness. Assuming, of course, if they can get anybody to come here.
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.
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He’s very good and cheap. Even if a team that is trading for him sees him as a one year rental, the outlay in funds is minimal for a top of the rotation starter. By trading him this offseason, the team that gets him can not bother to sign him and continually offer him a qualifying contract. He walks, you get a pick, he stays, you get another year of Dickey with no long term burden on your team. Considering what teams will fork over for in season rentals with no option to get compensation, there is value to get back from trading Dickey.
Off topic:
Joe D. Using the mobile version for this site there is no reply button, no imbedded threads for responses either.
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Toronto has an even bigger logjam of Catchers now with this trade bringing John Buck back to Canada…
1.JP Arencebia
2.Travis D’arnaud
3.John Buck
4.A.J. Jimenez
Pickup the damn phone Sandy before its too late…We are not active in free agency any longer at least start wheeling and dealing a la Billy Beane. the only way this team can improve
I’m all for this. Dickey for Gose and d’Arnaud. If not d’Arnaud, get JP and another prospect. Toronto is obviously going all in.
Toronto would never give up d’Arnaud for Dickey straight up, let alone he and Gose. They didn’t even trade him to acquire Reyes/Johnson/Buehrle. That should tell you he’s untouchable.
Arencibia, however, is a different story. But do you really want to trade Dickey for a catcher with a .275 OBP?
You ask for the moon and then you work backwards from there.
As for JP… If it was Gose and JP, absolutely. JP is not a centerpiece to any trade. Unless you want to flip Murphy and something else for him.
“But do you really want to trade Dickey for a catcher with a .275 OBP?”
Another one of these guys. What about Arencibia’s defense and handling of a pitching staff? That doesn’t matter? Only OBP? Also you forget to say that with that “.275″ OBP (which means absolutely NOTHING) the guy hit 18 HRs and 56 RBIs in about 350 ABs.
Why do you not mention that the guy hit 18 HRs and drove in 56 RBIs in less than 300 ABs? You really want to talk trade and the only info you give about the guy is the stat that is LEAST useful for this particular player and what he brings to a ballclub?
General baseball intelligence is receding because of this obp nonsense
*less than 400 ABs
I rarely, if ever, agree with you, but your point on the handling the pitching staff and his D is spot on. If you plant JP in the 7th spot, he’ll be fine and if he can help mold the young pitching staff, then the value he has exceeds his OBP. Though, it would be nice if it was a tad higher…
well if he’s having a good season hitting the ball than that other stat u guys like will be better too. But he has to use the bat in order to do that. And besides, hitting in the 7th spot he should be one of the last run producers in the lineup so you still want him driving in runs which is his job for the type of hitter he is. Anything else is just the natural by-product of his talent
“What about Arencibia’s defense and handling of a pitching staff? That doesn’t matter?”
Well it depends on the pitching staff regarding how much it matters….
Dickey pitched to Cy Young proportions, Niese, Gee and Harvey all pitched well without the help of a good calling catcher.
If you have a good and smart pitching staff they don’t need the catcher to tell them what to throw they already know what they want and need to do before they get out there.
Think about the Seaver/Koosman/Grote situation….
Did Grote make Seaver the great pitcher he was or is it more likely that Seaver knew what he wanted to do and as a result made Grote a better caller so when guys like Matlack came around what Grote learned from Seaver and Koosman was translated into Matlack’s fast success because he DID rely on the catcher to call the game for him?
How he calls a game is important for young guys and maybe guys like Harvey and Wheeler would benefit a bit but you look at what Harvey, Niese, Gee and Dickey did pitching to Thole and you have to wonder if we really need that or if it is worth trading a pitcher who doesn’t need that type of catcher without getting any increase in bat to make it worth it.
So yes having a catcher who has good defense and can call a game is a plus and MIGHT help your young pitching staff…
But it’s not worth it if your giving away your best pitcher just to get it.
oh i wouldn’t make the trade either, my point was all this new guy brought up in discussing a deal was Arencibia’s OBP. That’s it. We’re talking about a guy who drove in 50+ runs and hit 18 HRs in 350 ABs……………and all he mentions is his OBP.
Power hitting, low avg catchers who bat 7th on good and bad teams.. Gee, how unusual in baseball history is that? These people want statistically appealing players at every single position without even given thought on what a team needs based on how it’s configured.
They look like an even better match for the Mets now than they were a day ago. Problem is that teams with more money and more gumption need catchers too, and the Mets wont win any bidding war unless they throw a big fish on the barby.
John,
So long as Dickey’s demands are reasonable, meaning to me an extension of 2 guaranteed years with a option for the 3rd, I agree with you in that his value to the Mets is more than it would be on the trade market. I think he should be dealt only under 2 conditions – 1. he insists on more than a 2-year guaranteed extension or 2. another team will overpay for one year of his services.
Uh, journeyman before last year? Dickey has been with the Mets for what, 3 seasons now. Prior to that, yes. He has pitched well since coming to the Mets, and you can’t say last year was a fluke. He pitched consistently all year, even with the team being as bad as they were. I like him but still feel his value is in a trade.
A catcher and Gose or Bonafacio combo would be good.
I would love to have Dickey and Wright on the Mets going forward BUT it makes NO sense to bring them back on new contracts when youre essentially gonna pair them with the same cast of characters or more below average mlb talent.
You trade them now and regroup get the prospects for them and use the money saved on multiple mid level talent.
I rather get a couple top prospects for Wright and pay 3 mid level position players 7 mil a year rather than pay Wright 20 mil per…
That makes too much sense. Instead we will be expected to celebrate a Wright extension and another maybe 75 win team next year. This is silliness.
Color me crazy but i look at what the Giants did with their pitching staff and id rather start 2013 and give it a go with Dickey, and if the team is not competeing he;ll still be very valuable trade piece(not sure why author thinks other teams see him as a gimmick at this point), and if we are competitve, keep him as his contract is and try to sign him next off-season, he stated he likes it here.
Im also probably in the minority but i see Santana having a very solid 2013. Remember, he basically started his spring training 4 months early last year to be ready by April and didnt survive the season but obv has some real good games during that first half. So i see him 1 year stronger, total competitor, great teammate, winner, id like to give 2013 a shot with Santana and Dickey at the top of the rotation. Niese is turning into a Petitte type imo, very solid. Harvey fairly dynamic, Gee/Mejia/CYoung/McHugh/Hefner/Familia/Pelf(?) competing for 5th and ZWheeler in the wings i thnk their starting staff can be real good.
Id rather not trade Dickey unless trade really helps multiple positions. i also think there is a good enough chance we’ll be able to sign an OF at a discount that would rather guarantee to start and play then go somewhere else and platoon. If we can get more a consistent season out of Ike, more production from Duda and more pop out of Murph and get an OF, C and bullpen piece (lol, alot of peices) we’re not that far off…yea color me orange and blue…