On Monday, May 10, I wrote a post in which I said that minor leaguers Chris Carter and R.A. Dickey could be ripe for a promotion and days away from joining the Mets. First baseman Chris Carter was promoted the very next day and paid immediate dividends by lining an RBI double later that night.

Meanwhile, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey continues to shine, and while Oliver Perez had another brutal start for the Mets allowing seven runs, nine hits, four walks and four home runs in 3.1 innings pitched last night, R.A. Dickey solidified his chances up in Buffalo by tossing eight innings without giving up an earned run and improving to 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA.

Here is what I wrote in my previous post regarding Dickey,

Another player making a strong case for a promotion is righthanded pitcher R.A. Dickey. Dickey has made seven starts for the Bisons this season and owns a 2.56 ERA. In 52 2/3 innings pitched he has allowed 47 hits and just 6 walks while striking out 34 batters. His 1.01 WHIP leads the league and his ERA ranks third in a league chock full of the games best pitching prospects. 

 Dickey, a veteran of 144 Major League games, was signed by the Mets to a Minor League deal in the offseason. The 35-year-old right-hander is 3-1 for Buffalo. He recently had the best start of his career nearly missing a no-hitter in a masterful complete game one-hitter against the league’s top team, the Durham Bulls. After allowing a single to leadoff the game, he went on to retire the next 27 batters in a row. Afterward, he made no secret that he wants to pitch for the Mets big club.

“I want to do a good job of living in the moment of what I have,” Dickey said. “We have a lot of great guys and I enjoy being here, but I would be lying if I said this is where I want to be.”

Dickey could be the classic case of a late bloomer who has finally figured it out, and in many cases, knuckleball pitchers like him often do get better with age as they finally master control of their out pitch. The Mets risk nothing by calling him up and seeing if they have caught lightning in a bottle.

If the Mets were to bounce Oliver Perez from the rotation, they could either move Hisanori Takahashi from the bullpen to the rotation and replace him with Dickey. Or they could simply give Dickey a start and see what transpires. I’m betting that whatever they decide to do will ultimately be better than anything they can expect from the exasperating Oliver Perez.

The Mets have a lot of good baseball people in their ranks and I include Omar Minaya when I say that. I’m confident that they are already mulling the additions of 1B/OF Chris Carter and RHP R..A. Dickey, and that their callups are just days away.

Since writing that piece, I’ve had a change of heart about moving Takahashi into the rotation and I believe that he should remain in his current role as the long man out of the bullpen. I agree with Ron Darling who said that the Mets shouldn’t tinker with Takahashi by taking him out of a role in which he has exceeded expectations and found great success.

Darling also referred to Oliver Perez has an infection on the Mets that needed to be removed before he begins to infect other players.

I’d say look for Dickey to get promoted by Tuesday at the latest.