At season’s end Dickey called he and Wright a “package deal.”
Now that the Mets have locked up David Wright to an extension, they will probably shift their attention to the 2012 Cy Young award winner, RA Dickey. Could the reason why Wright finally agreed to sign on the dotted line be because he and Dickey are truly a package deal, and now the Mets are going to lock up Dickey next? Maybe the Mets told Wright they were going to sign Dickey, and it prompted David to finally agree to terms – who knows at this point?
There has been tons of speculation regarding what the Mets are going to do with regards to Dickey. There have been numerous trade rumors this off-season. Rightly so, as it seems this would be the optimal time to restock the team with young prospects in exchange for Dickey. That’s called selling high. Then, in the midst of the rumors, they were somewhat discredited when other MLB team executives said they thought the Mets were using the trade talks to gain an edge when negotiating with Dickey. That last part doesn’t really make much sense.
Dickey wants to be a Met. He has publicly proclaimed this. He is still saying he will take a two-year deal with the Mets. Dickey has already given the Mets all the negotiating power they need. Why would they have to falsely start dangling Dickey out there as trade bait to gain any bargaining power?
Picture the Dickey situation as high school prom. The Mets will be the guy in this scenario, and Dickey will be the girl. If you are a guy, and you know a girl wants to desperatley go to the prom with you, you basically have two options. The first option is pretty straight forward and involves just asking the girl you know already wants to go with you. The other option is to wait it out, maybe ask a couple of other girls, and if you get turned down there is no pressure because you know the other girl is just waiting for you to ask her. The Mets are pretty much the guy, checking to see what else is available out there. The girl has lost all her negotiating power, and so has Dickey.
So based on my prom theory, I have to assume that the Mets really are thinking about trading Dickey this winter. Now the question becomes if they trade Dickey, who becomes the ace of the staff in his absence?
The Mets really only have one option. And no, it’s not Johan Santana.
The ace of the staff immediately becomes Matt Harvey.
Santana just does not have what it takes to be the ace of the staff anymore. He pitched admirably in 2012, but he’s probably a number two or three starter at this point in his career. On the other hand, Harvey has electric stuff, and has shown to have the potential to be the ace of the staff. Based on what he displayed during his 2012 call up, you would have to believe this kid would rise to the occasion.
Sure, everyone would like to give Harvey two or three years to develop into the ace of the staff, but if this kid is going to be remembered as one of the great Mets pitchers, he should have no problem adjusting and striving in his new role with the team.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Whether the Mets decide to trade Dickey or not remains to be seen. Emotions aside, the Mets should probably trade Dickey now, at a point where they can get the most value for him. Either that, or run the risk of signing a 38 year-old pitcher with about 2.5 good seasons under his belt.
