7
2012
Mejia Will Be First Choice To Replace Dickey If He Gets Traded
An article by 
According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, If the Mets trade R.A. Dickey, they intend to fill his spot in the rotation with Jenrry Mejia.
One Mets official reiterated Wednesday that there was virtually no way Zack Wheeler would break camp with the team. For one thing, if Wheeler does not spend the first three weeks of the season in the minors, he would be eligible for free agency after the 2018 season, rather than the Mets also controlling him for 2019.
Mejia just wrapped up a winter-ball stint. He went 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA in seven starts, although six of his 12 earned runs allowed came in his final start. Overall, Mejia allowed 22 hits and 10 walks in 25 2/3 innings while striking out 19.
Mejia has lost a lot of his glitter over the last few seasons, but he does deserve a chance to see what we have in him. This makes sense, but it’s also a huge downgrade in the rotation Wheeler or no Wheeler. Unless Johan Santana has a vintage Johan Santana season over 35 starts, the 2013 Mets are dangerously close to being a 95 loss team.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
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Considering his lack of ability to adjust to Bullpen life, he’d be the obvious choice.
I’m really hoping the Mets wind up extending Dickey instead of trading him.
Mejia….I guess it’s a toss up right now if he ultimately sticks in the rotation or winds up in the BP?
Is Mejia even considered a viable prospect anymore? He’s just a placeholder for Wheeler at this point. By the way, i’m not buying this fallacy that the Mets have strong pitching depth.
If he pitch well this season, he could take Santana’s spot in 2014. Have you heard about Tapia, Montero, Fulmer?
Yes but they are too far away to be counted on. Remember Brad Holt?
At the very least the Mets will bring in a vet to compete for the spot – Lannan, Pelfrey, etc.
And even if they don’t bring in someone with a resume then I like Hefner’s chances of beating Mejia for the slot, though I’ll be pulling hard for Jenrry.
Well it was him or a choice of Familia and Hefner….
Wheeler will be midseason earliest and I suspect it will trigger a deadline trade of Santana if they can find any takers.
If Dickey stays we will see Mejia go back to the pen because these guys can’t seem to commit one way or the other on him.
Mejia could be Pedro. Notice “could be”. I think Mejia deserves the chance for at leads two mos. until Wheeler shows he is ready. If Santana ok he can be dealt at trade deadline and both Mejia and Wheeler in rotation. With Niese and Harvey we would be looking good at SP.
I’m not saying he can’t but I think BOTH should start off in AAA and just re-sign Dickey
Just keep Dickey, Problem solved and if Mejia is really that good in AAA you can trade him for what you need.
I like Mejia and I still consider him a prospect but a prospect is not a suitable replacement for a CY YOUNG winner, not even close!
Extend Dickey, Hope Santana becomes tradable at the deadline, Bring Wheeler up to take his place and once Mejia shows he has it together you can decide on trading Dickey next year and still get what you want.
Metsie: It’s trade Dickey now or before the season but at least a month before ST (pitches and catchers report) or forget about it. Then only other options are extend him or let him walk.
No there is another option….
Extend him and then trade him so the Rental, Lack of Comp Picks, and what his possible extention price may be no longer apply.
And by doing that your not forced to make the trade this year as if the price isn’t right just wait till the price goes up because someone is more desperate for pitvching help than they are now!
The ONLY thing forcing a timeline here is our unwillingness to extend him.
If they did that then there is no deadline or problems with all the things above to get in the way of a trade or decrease his value in Prospect terms.
Metsie:
Technically that is possible. But what if he has a bad year? His peak is now.
Hypothetical Worry for taking Action?
Works both ways…What if what we get back sucks?
Isn’t that even MORE likely than Dickey who has improved every year the past three years sucking?
“Extend him and then trade him……..”
If Dickey is good we keep him.
If Dickey has a down year at trade deadline and a 25 M deal for three years we are stuck with him.
He won the Cy Young so so much for him sucking…
Even if he declines how far do you think he drops? 15 Game winner instead?
Thats more than anyone in our rotation won last year isn’t it?
And you keep forgetting those kids are even LESS of a guarantee…
They are WAY more likely to be busts than Dickey has of declining!
Metsie,
I have faith in R.A. three years maybe 28 M (5 M 2013) 11.5 M (2014 ) 11.5 M (2015),I would plan to keep Dickey for the full contract peiod.
I am addressing the issue of trading him after that extension.
Why would we trade Dickey at the trade deadline even with another CY year. Why not keep our Ace.
If Dickey falters his value will be much lower than now.
Andll I’m saying is if you extend him NOTHING stops you from trading him if thats what you really want or get overwhelmed, You get more because he is signed and not a rental AND if none of that happens you haven’t wasted the next two months waiting for Grienke to sign and make someone want to listen to your slightly less than extortion requests for a trade.
Get it done, you can STILL trade him later and for more than your getting now if you want to but get him signed and then worry about it later, start looking at all the other things that need to get done…
Ludwick signed for a measly 13-14Mil….
Could have had that RH Power bat for 15M if we had ever REALLY expressed any interest.
the 2013 Mets are dangerously close to being a 95 loss team”
And in the process of making Sandy Alderson the loser-err of all GM’s.
“Unless Johan Santana has a vintage Johan Santana season over 35 starts, the 2013 Mets are dangerously close to being a 95 loss team”
Way to keep the faith. Wasn’t it talks like this and BS like the Marlins being WS favorites/winning it all running rampant around this time last year? Come down on the pessimism a bit. How about a competition between Mejia, Familia and Wheeler to see who gets that slot out of ST? I don’t see why all eyes gotta be on Johan. What if Gee picks up where he left off before the clot? Matt Harvey mows down competition in his first full year? The only things to be concerned about are the bullpen and if the Mets will even have a solid, consistent lineup should trades be made.
Exactly! I’m with you, this team could WIN 95 games if things break right. No reason why Harvey cant win a Cy Young and Wheeler nails a Rookie of the Year with 17 wins. Too much pessimism around here!
thats crazy…
mejia replacing dickey???
I agree. So far, we’ve got wholesale changes promised, but looks like it’ll be downgrades in the negative direction. Replace an ace with someone who has significant injury history and who still needs time to learn to pitch? I thought we were trying to break the cycle of rushing prospects. Granted, Mejia has been up and down for a while now, but he either isn’t ready, or just not as good as advertised. Just cough up the cash and extend Dickey already. Ten million isn’t much in the baseball universe. If it is true that contracts are handed out based on what a player has done, just give the guy what he’s asking for. He’s earned it several times already. Trading Dickey won’t solve the catching problem. It won’t solve the outfield problem. Maybe you get a prospect who might rise above the AAAA level, but then maybe he flames out. I fail to see the upgrade here, especially after resigning Wright, who had more trade value. These Wilpons are schizo nuts.
Ar least you’re not dunk on Koolaid. Good to see.
Trading RA for a Yankee package that includes one of their prize catchers…or Toronto’s Travis might…
I personally dont like Sanchez b/c his defense sucks. He is a glorified DH or a 1B at best.
I think its either Travis or Juan Centeno ( stop laughing met fans )
It’s not, and I’ll tell you why.
If Mejia has been jerked around ever since Manuel & Minaya royally screwed him over 3 years ago, Mejia would be a gem right now and a bright spot being talked about with Zack Wheeler. Is it crazy to think Mejia can’t turn it around and have a surprising FULL season? No. Mejia reminds me of Cincy’s Johnny Cueto. Like Mejia, Cueto was a bit rough (and rushed) when he came through Cincy’s farm system (he led the NL in HBP in his first year in the league). Hell, Mejia has the same pitch arsenal as Cueto (Fastball, Cutter, Changeup). However, Cueto always showed flashes of brilliance and what he could be for YEARS. Adjustments were made and before you knew it, look at him in 2012. (He was screwed of a spot out of the ASG out of spite. Thanks LaRussa)
Who’s to say that Mejia won’t be another Cueto in the making?
Hey, I wish I had your optimism, and I really hope Mejia becomes a beast. But when you talk about replacing as sure a thing as you’ve had in Dickey with someone who still needs time, and who was mishandled by the organization, I just don’t see it being a productive, forward thinking move. It doesn’t give me a case of the warm and fuzzies. I need to see something more positive on a consistent basis out of Mejia first, before I annoint him to be anyone’s successor.
It’s completely understandable to be worried about finding someone suitable to replace RA, but if RA manages to get the Mets several pieces to fix that nagging problem offensively, namely constantly leaving villages on base, the ability to stay consistent day in and day out (How many times in the last 3-4 years you’ve seen the Mets score 8+ runs in a game, only to struggle scoring 1-2 runs against a shitty team the next game? I’ve lost count)
You wanna talk about “sure things”? Nobody here couldn’t even NAME ONE “sure thing” this time last season! I don’t care if it’s Mike Olt, Giancarlo Stanton, or Wil Myers, if a trade gets done over the holidays, resulting in the team getting an everyday player to be just the producer RA Dickey is/was, so be it.
You know how to ease the worrying over his replacement?
KEEP HIM!
Get what you want trading something else you don’t have to worry about replacing or have a replacement for such as Flores!
Yes, keep him when his stock and demand will never be any higher than it is now, in which it will come back to haunt them. The problem with trading someone you don’t have to worry about replacing with the Mets is, outside of Flores, who can you really sacrifice that’s valuable?
Oh please he doesn’t have an expiration date that if you don’t sell him now he is worthless…
And truth is if he was really worth what you suggest he is now then guess what it’s not enough to trade him apparently…
SO so much for his SUPER HIGH NOW value!
Truth is he will be even MORE valuable once signed at the Trade Deadline!
It’s not ALL that crazy…
He was misused, Jerked around and as a result had arm issues that required Surgery.
Tommy John surgery is definitly something you can come back from…
But usually that applies to guys who already have a ton of experience getting MLB batter out so they have the experience to make up for anything they lost due to the surgery.
In the case of a Kid it is much harder to overcome because when it happens in the Minors it is almost like going back to where you were two years ago while you learn how to do what you did and still also improve on what you didn’t know before you got hurt.
SO it’s not crazy to think he can’t bounce back, no more crazy than to think he is going to pick up where he left off before they jerked him around and he was a top list prospect.
i wonder if RA to Yankees for Gardner + Phelps makes any sense.
LOL Mejia could be Pedro, Wheeler is ROY, Harvey will win Cy Young, Gee takes off, vintage Johan! Do the Mets still play in Flushing or Fantasy Island?
Yes Mejia could be Pedro. At least let us find out until Wheeler bought up probably in June when Santana hopefully traded to a contender.
LMAO @ the one who said Wheeler can win 17 games!!!! LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Hey now, he could do it if he was on the Nats! LOL
Coming off major surgery not good choice, do you really think he will have command of his throwing ability to last 7 innings, and to dominate, i don’t think so.
So you might as well sign your ACE – DICKEY, and if you do trade him, you better make sure you get a Willie Mays player in return,and a couple of prospect. Other wise you will lose the strength of the pitching staff. How healthy are all our starters ???? Keep your winner.
i read that the Mets & Yankees ‘discussed’ RA but found no common ground. The Yankees have a pretty thin farm system at this point, but there seem a few good pieces at the MLB level that make some sense regarding the Mets: Phelps, Gardner + the Yanks have 2 good & young catchers: Cervelli & Romine. 1 of those catchers and gardner + phelps for Dickey makes sense to me. But not sure if Yankees would do thaat.
Supposedly they have some good young OF as well.
Austin Jackson, Gardner, and Jose Tabata have come from their system and all 3 are pretty talented, with mixed results
I would Trade Dickey for Mason Williams, David Adams, Dante Bichette Jr., Austin Romine and one of their stud young SP
Thats 1 OF, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 C and 1 SP
Yeah, they have some depth @ catching in the System with Gary Sacnhez their #1 Prospect. Mason WIlliams is a couple years away, but Almonte is close & looks interesting, so they may be willing to give up Gardner + Romine + Phelps and / or Almonte for RA.
Gardner is a free-agent in 2013 though…no thanks…
Why didnt we just sell Wright and Reyes for prospects?
because the wilpons have always approached long term problems with a short term approach
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/haper-mets-team-knuckle-pact-article-1.1215205
‘Again, what’s the problem? It doesn’t appear the Mets are merely stalling while gauging the trade market. Instead, there seems to be a split in the front office as to whether to trade Dickey or not, and indications are that GM Sandy Alderson is in favor of signing him.’
‘Some Mets people even hint at some sort of behind-the scenes issue between Dickey and ownership that has had an impact on negotiations.’
********************************************
Anyone who thinks that ownership doesn’t have more of a hand in what’s going on isn’t paying attention. From what I’m reading, it’s been speculated that the FO would have rather traded Wright and signed Dickey. Sounds like the ownership wants just the opposite and so far, got 1/2 of that with the Wright signing.
Ownership has a problem with Dickey? Really????
The reigning NL CY award winner, who just won your club 20 games – who uses his free time for all sorts of charity, who had to overcome a horrific childhood…..and the Wilpons have a problem with him?
If only Selig would have stayed the hell out of it…we might be enjoying new owners right about now. Owners with half a brain and who actually want to win AND check their egos at the door to get it done.
Well SRT this is what I think is going on…You may disagree but It makes much more sense than the Wilpons making ALL those decisions…
Sandy was prepared to trade BOTH! Collect all his little kiddies, take 20 Mil off the payroll (remember they lost 23 Mil last year) , and consider his job finished as the only thing left to do was not renew Santana and Bay and wait for thier salary to come off the books!
The WIlpons said no way we have to sign Wright. Even made some extra payroll room by restructuring what and when Bay was paid what he was owed to do it.
As for Dickey they had no real attachment to him, So they are letting Sandy do whatever he wants.
Prior to the 2012 season I predicted the Mets would be a poor team in 2012 and a worse team in 2013. So far, looks as though I am on target. Hard to win without a major league quality outfield and a below average catching.
I expect next to zero from Santana this year. I think itis ok that Mejia gets a shot but I am not a Mejia guy. I think he probably will fail.