On Monday the Mets will host their friends North of the Border to Citi Field for the first time in the history of the franchise. This series will have a lot of familiar faces for both sides.
The Mets will also be welcoming home fan favorite Jose Reyes who wore the blue and orange from 2003-2011 going through just about everything a player can from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. During his tenure in a Mets uniform. This won’t be the first visit back to Citi Field for Reyes who had a short stint with the division rival Miami Marlins in 2012.
Monday will also mark the return of R.A. Dickey who is making his first visit back to Citi Field since the Mets dealt him to Toronto after the 2012 campaign.
Dickey resurrected his career in Queens and had one of the best seasons ever for a Mets pitcher in 2012 when he won the NL CY Young going 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA. I am still bitter to this day that Tony LaRussa didn’t let Dickey start the All Star Game that year in Kansas City.
The veteran knuckleballer hasn’t been the same since the Mets let him go. As memorable as that year was for Dickey, it was what the Mets received in return from Toronto that would have the biggest impact on the organization.
It was not only the best trade, but the best move in general, that Sandy Alderson has ever made during his tenure as Mets general manager. Alderson sent R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole, and Mike Nickeas to Toronto in exchange for John Buck, Wuilmer Becerra, Travis d’Arnaud, and Noah Syndergaard.
No one knew at the time but the Mets straight up ripped off the Jays in this deal. Dickey hasn’t won more than 14 games since the trade and is only 2-6 this year. The Mets will see Dickey on Thursday in the series finale in Toronto.
The four game series will be the first chance for d’Arnaud and Syndergaard to show the team that traded them away what they gave up. D’Arnaud had a big second half last season and looks to be building on that since coming off of the DL on Wednesday. The 26 year old backstop could evolve into an elite player at the big league level before all is said and done.
Syndergaard has shown signs of pure dominance in the minor leagues and now he’s establishing himself at the big league level. The hard-throwing righty will get the start in the series opener on Monday at Citi Field but with his recent struggles the Mets will give Syndergaard a familiar face behind the plate when Kevin Plawecki gets the start at catcher.
D’Arnaud has yet to catch Syndergaard at the big league level and that won’t change Monday as Terry Collins elected not to have that battery together against their former team.
Syndergaard will have a chip on his shoulder coming off of the worst outing of his career on Tuesday against the Giants, plus the fact that he is going up against the team that gave him away.
It’ll be no easy task though as the rookie will have to face the league’s best offense that features Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, and Josh Donaldson. The Blue Jays come into Queens riding an 11-game winning streak and the Mets will most likely have to keep their hot bats going if they want to compete with the hottest team in baseball. This should be a fun series to watch.
