The Mets and Blue Jays have agreed in principle to a trade which will send R.A. Dickey and Josh Thole to Toronto for their top prospect C Travis d’Arnaud, C John Buck and RHP Noah Syndergaard, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Both teams will also include another minor leaguer, or the Blue Jays could reportedly add cash to the deal instead.
Rosenthal says that Dickey and the Blue Jays now have until Tuesday at 2:00 pm ET to agree to a contract extension to make the deal official.
This is a done deal that now hinges solely on whether Dickey and the Jays could work out an extension deal.
Dickey had been asking the Mets for less than a fair market value deal considered to be two years for $26 million. He referred to this as an “olive branch”.
However, he just picked up some leverage here and could demand fair market value which could put the deal at possibly three years and a minimum of $15 million annually based on what much lesser pitchers have gotten this Winter.
Omar Minaya signed Dickey off the scrap heap as a free agent before the 2010 season and before long he became a permanent fixture and made an immediate impact averaging 192 innings with a 3.08 ERA. In 2012, Dickey led the National League with 233 2/3 innings pitched, 230 strikeouts and five complete games, posting a 2.73 ERA on his way to winning the NL Cy Young Award.
Who we’re getting…
Baseball America recently ranked Travis d’Arnaud as the Toronto’s #1 prospect after the 2012 season:
D’Arnaud has the tools to become a big league all-star if he can stay healthy. He’s a rare catcher with the potential to be an above-average hitter with plus power. He doesn’t walk much but makes consistent hard contact, getting hits even when his timing is off or he gets off balance. He has the bat speed and strength to hit plenty of homers and lets his power come naturally, employing a short stroke and all-fields approach.
Baseball America recently ranked Noah Syndergaard as Toronto’s #3 prospect after the 2012 season:
Syndergaard’s big frame gives him an imposing presence on the mound, and his fastball only adds to it. His heater ranges from 92-98 mph with excellent downward angle and armside run. His curveball has gained velocity since he signed and now sits in the mid-70s with downward action. It’s inconsistent and eventually may develop into a slider, but it gets outs and features good spin. He maintains his arm speed well on his mid-80s changeup. He has very good body control for his size, which leads to quality command and control.
As I told my friend Ed (Rusty) today on Twitter, it’s always tough when you have to trade a player you like even when it’s for the good of the team. But that’s the business of baseball and believe me, it’s all business right now in Queens.
The emotional bonds fans form with players are special and can usually last a lifetime, especially for players who were elite and dominated their league like Dickey has. I’ll miss R.A. very much, but the writing was always on the wall. There was no special trip to his home like there was with Wright, the initial offer by Mets was for just $8 million a year – insulting by most standards, and there was never a sense that Dickey was the priority they said he would be in October.
So now he’s gone and we wish him well. We have new players and faces that we hope can aspire to fill the Dickey’s vacancy with their performances and any new thrills they may provide in the future. That future may not come right away, so just as we’ve been waiting for Zack Wheeler, so too shall we wait and see what d’Arnaud and Syndergaard will bring to the show once they finally arrive.
