According to Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger, R.A. Dickey and the Mets discussed a short-term extension into at least 2014 earlier this season, people with knowledge of the talks have said. The team elected to wait and observe Dickey during the course of the season.
The cost of waiting always seems to burn the Mets lately, and now Dickey will have to be paid commensurate with becoming “one of the finest pitchers in National League.”
When asked about re-signing Dickey as well as third baseman David Wright to extensions this offseason last week, Sandy Alderson responded:
“Nothing with respect to 2013 rides on what we do with those two players,” he said last week. He added, “Their situations will be at the top of our list. But if we have to exercise options, we have to exercise options.”
Dickey is at the top of the list when you consider this season’s Cy Young candidates. He leads the National League in wins, complete games, strikeouts and WHIP.
The Mets hold a $5 million option on Dickey for 2013 and he might be the most underpaid starting pitcher in the game today.
But as McCullough points out, his long-term position in the organization appears unsettled as the 2012 season creeps toward its conclusion.
