Andy Martino of the Daily News reports that Mets officials and the agents for David Wright have not yet scheduled a meeting or begun formal contract negotiations, but could do so next week, according to people involved in the process.
There have not yet been substantive talks between the team and R.A. Dickey’s representatives either — although in both cases, general manager Sandy Alderson engaged the veterans in informal discussions before the season ended.
In the final days of the season, Alderson vowed an aggressive push to re-sign the two “core players” as quickly as possible. Given the fact that talks have not yet begun, is it still possible that either player could be signed this month?
“Too early to tell,” one Mets source said.
Both Wright and Dickey have one year left on their contracts in the form of club options for 2013, but the Mets are seeking big-picture resolution on both this fall. Alderson has made clear that, whatever the potential risks of a offering a long-term contract to a player — Wright — who will turn 30 next season, he is interested in committing the years and dollars necessary to retain the third baseman, who could command a contract of six or seven years and $120 million or more.
This off season is already so much more different than the last one. For one thing all the rumors seem to be in step with Alderson’s claim that signing Wright and Dickey would be a top priority.
Last year at this time it was all about waiting things out on Jose Reyes or seeing what the market dictates, and unlike Wright and Dickey who have options, Reyes was free and clear and they still allowed him to head right into free agency unimpeded even though they had a just short 15-day exclusive window to deal with him.
This year, it certainly looks like there will be a real “honest” attempt to keep both players this offseason, and that the negotiations will not be about parameters, but discussing actual numbers like a legitimate and real negotiation is supposed to be.
There looks to be a real possibility that an official offer will be tendered to both Dickey and Wright even though they will not technically be free agents for another fourteen months.
There is an urgency here that never existed with Reyes. Those who said that Reyes was never wanted back, including myself, seem to have nailed it right from jump street.
If you can’t sense and feel the difference between this October and last October, you may need to take a closer look, or you haven’t been examining all the facts.
Also, if both players are retained in upwards of $160 million for both, it sure takes the steam out of the “Wilpons are broke” argument. What will Mr. Megdal write about all Winter if that happens?
