Updated by Joe D. at 12:30 PM
Good news for anyone concerned about Travis d’Arnaud’s knee which he injured last June and resulted in missing the rest of the season.
According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, club sources have told him that the team have reviewed the medical records and are not concerned about the knee, saying “it’s fine”.
Meanwhile, no new updates on the progress or what the hold-up is.
Original post by Joe D. at 8:50 AM
It’s Sunday morning and R.A. Dickey is still a Met. While the framework of a seven player deal with the Toronto Blue Jays seems to be in place, there’s lots still going on as the Jays have formally requested medical records for Dickey, there’s an extension that still needs to be resolved, players need to be notified, etc. Here is what we know:
According to published reports, the Mets would get top catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud (.333, 16 homers, 975 OPS in Triple-A Las Vegas), righthanded pitcher Noah Syndergaard (8-5, 2.60 ERA in Class A) and veteran catcher John Buck (.192, 12 homers, 41 RBIs), whom the Jays recently acquired in a deal with the Marlins, for R.A. Dickey and catcher Josh Thole. A prospect from each team also would be involved, according to reports.
Published reports indicate that Toronto will not make the trade without a contract extension and have asked to speak with Dickey about one. Some speculate that this is why the deal is taking so long to be completed. Dickey is reportedly open to a contract extension with the Blue Jays, but whether they come to an agreement on his terms remains to be seen. Initially, Dickey had asked the Mets for what he called a less than fair offer to remain with the team, reportedly two years for $26 million..
The key to the deal for the Mets is D’arnaud who is 23 and considered to be baseball’s top catching prospect. The Phillies selected him in the first round of the 2007 draft before trading him to the Blue Jays two years later as part of a package for pitcher Roy Halladay.
In each of the last three seasons, d’Arnaud has been sidelined by injuries, the latest a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last June that wiped out the rest of his season. He also missed half of the 2010 season with two bulging disks in his back. It’s not certain that he could immediately step into the Mets’ lineup until mid-season which was the plan for him in Toronto.
Yesterday was a harrowing day for the teams and fans as well who anxiously awaited some resolution either way. There seems to be at least some confusion by some who think the state of Mets finances is the driving force to this deal. I would remind them that Dickey is only owed $5 million and John Buck who is coming back is owed $6 million. The $13 million a year that Dickey would have gotten if they agreed to his terms would not kick in until the $25 million a year Johan Santana contract came off the books.
Yesterday I floated the possibility that the Wilpons simply didn’t want Dickey back and that they waged a campaign to shift the fan base’s mindset on him by attacking his character and integrity with leaks to the media.
It’s okay if you disagree with that, but some Met fans resorted to throwing everyone at MMO under the bus, questioning my loyalty to the team, insulting my mother who is in a medical facility and in the final stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, and even two Met fans who asked me to “die already”. And we wonder what is wrong with the world. I guess there are sick and crazed individuals in all groups who just can’t control their emotions and feel the need to lash out and attack others, even over something as innocent and unimportant as baseball. This is why we see the so many tragedies that we do.
Anyway, I suspect R.A. Dickey will eventually agree to a contract extension and that a deal will get done today. We can digest, review and debate everything about the deal once it happens and we know all the final details.
In the meantime, be good to each other and say a prayer for the victims of the tragedy in Newtown, CT. that took the lives of 27 victims including 20 children. Many of their services are being held today. God bless them and give comfort to them all. Great job by Saturday Night Live who began their show last night with a choir of children singing Silent Night. They get it.
