Updated on 12/2 by Joe D. at 4:45 PM
Jim Bowden of ESPN XM tweets that despite RA Dickey describing progress in negotiations…a source involved in negotiations says both sides aren’t even close to a deal
Updated on 12/2 by Joe D. at 2:45 PM
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, reported that R.A. Dickey has just arrived at the Winter Meetings. Dickey, who lives in Nashville, has repeatedly said he would attempt to sit in directly on negotiations with the Mets front office.
Dickey spoke to reporters in the lobby about possibility he gets he traded and said, “I’m not concerned. I know it’s a possibility, but I’m not concerned. I love being a Met.”
This will be very interesting…
Dickey is obviously very tenacious regarding his desire to remain with the Mets, but does Sandy Alderson feel the same way?
We’ll soon find out….
Updated on 12/1 by Joe D. at 8:45 PM
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Mets have fielded six or seven calls from teams that would like to meet at the Winter Meetings and discuss trading for R.A. Dickey. Heyman also says that Sandy Alderson has been given clearance to pursue trading Dickey.
The Mets and Dickey have been trying to work out a contract extension for two months, but it appears general manager Sandy Alderson has the go-ahead now to more seriously consider trade alternatives for the team’s ace and 2012 National League Cy Young winner. The Mets reportedly increased their contract offer to Dickey recently, but it appears the trade meetings haven’t been canceled to this point.
The Mets will want a catcher and outfield help in any trade for Dickey, says Heyman, and the Royals are one team that has significant interest in Dickey. However they will not trade their top prospect Will Myers in any deal for a starter.
The Pirates, Dodgers, Angels, Rangers and Nationals are among the other teams in the market for a starting pitcher.
Dickey has said that if a new extension isn’t signed by the Winter Meetings, he intends to personally sit in on negotiations if that’s what it takes.
I honestly don’t understand where this speculation about Royals’ prospect Wil Myers for Dickey is coming from on MetsBlog. Why would they do that?
Myers, 21, belted 37 home runs with 109 RBIs and a .314 average this year combined between Triple-A and Double-A. The young righthanded slugger seems to have mastered Triple-A Omaha where he posted a .937 OPS in 439 plate appearances.
Additionally, Myers was named the Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today and Baseball America, and is the No. 3 ranked baseball prospect in the nation.
Right now, I’d say he is what Mike Trout was a year ago. I couldn’t imagine the Angels trading Mike Trout for a one year starting pitching rental who was 38, even if he was a Cy Young winner. Could you? This isn’t Wilmer Flores or Brandon Nimmo we’re talking about here. Myers is a blue chipper if there ever was one.
Original Post 12:30 PM
ESPN’s Buster Olney writes that the Mets have increased their offer to R.A. Dickey, but it’s unclear whether it’s close enough to what Dickey seeks in a two-year deal.
The Mets were stunned by Andy Pettitte’s one-year, $12 million deal, coming off a year in which he made 12 starts — and, in a strange way, Pettitte is a comparable for Dickey because of his age.
If Pettitte is getting $12 million now, what is Dickey’s market value after a season in which he won the Cy Young Award?
Quite the quandary the Mets find themselves in, no thanks to that Andy Pettitte deal.
I’m going to say that Dickey is probably looking for a three year, $30 million dollar deal. The deal would replace the $5 million option the Mets exercised in early November.
It’s been reported that he would take a two-year deal, but that was on top of the option and would not kick in until 2014. Pretty sure that the Mets will sign him, and that 3/30 will be close to what it winds up being.
Hey, I predicted 8/140 for Wright back in September, and 8/138 is close enough… It figures I wasn’t around to toot my own horn on the day the news broke, so this will have to do. Toot, toot… 🙂
