Sources ranging from Rusty at TRDMB to less highly-regarded ones such as Jon Heyman, Andy Martino, and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (according to MLBTR) are all reporting that the Mets may send Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays to rejoin Jose Reyes. Supposedly the return will include stud catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud and outfielder Anthony Gose.
Should this turn out to be true, Alderson will deserve universal and rather vociferous praise.
This writer has been firm in his bias towards starting pitching, and feels that Dickey should only be traded for players who have serious potential to have real impact and possibly at key positions.
This trade would achieve that without a doubt.
d’Arnaud was ranked by Baseball America as the game’s #17 prospect prior to the 2012 season. While he does strike out a fair amount, he hits for average and power, and has improved at every level, sporting a .975 OPS with 16 HR and 21 2B in just 67 AAA games this year. He was expected to be a Sept. callup to TOR but tore a PCL in his knee. According to reports, the ACL and MCL were not damaged, and he’s expected to be 100% for spring training. He turns 24 in February.
Anthony Gose is a lightning-fast center fielder who was the game’s 39th best prospect before 2012. He also strikes out a fair amount, but manages a decent OBP, steals bases, and has a little pop, hitting 16 HR in AA in 2011. He can be counted on the steal bases and smack triples, and as he played 56 games for the Blue Jays this year, he would instantly be the Met opening day CF. He turned 22 in August.
Both players were Phillies draft picks, d’Arnaud going to Toronto in the Halladay deal, and Gose to Houston in the Oswalt trade then being traded to the Jays. The Phils have developed some fine players in recent years which should add to these youngsters’ pedigrees-in addition, how sweet would it be to see them develop into stars and lead the Mets back to supremacy over their rivals?
The deal is not done yet, but should it happen in some form like this, the team will in all likelihood have instantly improved two positions which are often key to having great teams, and with young, inexpensive players under team control for years.
The feeling here is that while Dickey could have continued to be productive for 2-3 more years, a trade was acceptable and even a positive were it to have a return of this magnitude. Packages surrounding players like Trumbo or Olt, who would be power hitters playing out of position in cavernous Citi Field, were clearly very risky as a return for a pitcher of Dickey’s ability. But this package would not be. This would be obtaining two players with massive potential, at key positions, who could revamp the team on several levels almost overnight.
Stay tuned for updates.
25 comments
srt
12/15/2012-10:35am at 10:35 am (UTC -4)
I’m reading a ‘mystery’ team contacted the Mets Friday night with an offer for Dickey as well.
Ah…the ye old ‘mystery’ team.
Stick
12/15/2012-11:12am at 11:12 am (UTC -4)
the mystery being, only the Met FO person that made it up and leaked it knows who it is supposed to be?
gategem
12/15/2012-12:17pm at 12:17 pm (UTC -4)
It must be the one my cousins son (he is a plumber in the Dallas vicinity that does some work for some of the local sports franchises and note he’s the only one in the family without a PhD and he out earns everyone else, go figure it). There’s a strong rumor of a trade that supposedly would dwarf the Toronto trade but I’ve not been able to verify it so as I said before I will not mention the players involved.
Stick
12/15/2012-11:19am at 11:19 am (UTC -4)
of course we need to see all the names ultimately involved, but if there is no shockers (like having Ike as the trhow-in), then yes, this was a deal they needed to do.
I love Dickey, but he is such a unique player that it is really hard to predict what he will do. And the Mets are so bereft of foundational position players, that they had to do something.
And if it happens, they will at least be solid up the middle at 3/4 of the positions! Adding a good SS or 2B would be a nice bonus at some point.
a couple pen arms, at least 1 corner OF, and a SP like Lannan and the roster will be pretty well done, and I think will qualify as wholesale change.
Bryan
12/15/2012-11:27am at 11:27 am (UTC -4)
If they can add both d’Arnaud and Gose and then sign a righty hitting outfielder in free agency, then I really like how the lineup looks. Plus, how nice would it be to have two guys drafted by the Phillies hurting the Phillies.
Q-Rod
12/15/2012-11:28am at 11:28 am (UTC -4)
I wondering about the extra Met players – AA is no chump, he’s going to exact his pound of flesh.
Stick
12/15/2012-11:30am at 11:30 am (UTC -4)
the devil is always in the details.
I hope they get a possible future closer RP type out of the deal too.
Bryan
12/15/2012-11:31am at 11:31 am (UTC -4)
Breaking news from Metsblog: 11:08 am: The Blue Jays will not trade Travis d’Arnaud to the Blue Jays unless R.A. Dickey signs an extension with them.
I think the bluejays are really smart not to trade with themselves like that.
ColoradoMetsFan
12/15/2012-11:43am at 11:43 am (UTC -4)
Apparently Dickey is open to signing an extension with Toronto, although the Blue Jays are also seeking a prospect. My feeling is, with the exception of Harvey and Wheeler, take your pick. Take two for all I care.
gategem
12/15/2012-12:21pm at 12:21 pm (UTC -4)
Why not? The Mets once traded a player to be named later for a catcher. The player to be named later was the catcher they acquired. So he was traded for himself.
Prismo
12/15/2012-11:50am at 11:50 am (UTC -4)
Sherman: So to repeat, Anthony Gose is NOT part of the trade talks for Dickey. #Bluejays building a package around D’Arnaud. #Mets
Stickguy
12/15/2012-12:00pm at 12:00 pm (UTC -4)
I still think 1 prospect (no ML service time at all) is not enough.
this is giving me a head ache. Just finish the deal and post the players so we have something real to complain about!
Prismo
12/15/2012-12:04pm at 12:04 pm (UTC -4)
It sounds as if it would still be d’Arnaud +
For Dickey +
Just not necessarily Gose.
ColoradoMetsFan
12/15/2012-12:25pm at 12:25 pm (UTC -4)
Agreed. At this point, I’m waiting for the deal to fall apart. It would be worth it just to hear how they would spin that one.
Prismo
12/15/2012-11:59am at 11:59 am (UTC -4)
And for anyone who missed it the Phillies signed Lannan, so he’s off the table. Would’ve been a decent fit.
Stickguy
12/15/2012-12:10pm at 12:10 pm (UTC -4)
yeah, but on the bright side? If he is as bad as last year, in that park, it will be a disaster. Which is good!
though I am now smelling a big poof back in our rotation. I can live with that, if he can continue what he was doing early last year.
srt
12/15/2012-12:57pm at 12:57 pm (UTC -4)
Agree, on both points.
TX
12/15/2012-12:11pm at 12:11 pm (UTC -4)
Well, Loshe or Poof are still around.
TX
12/15/2012-12:12pm at 12:12 pm (UTC -4)
Honestly, Wheeler could make the rotation.
darknova306
12/15/2012-12:28pm at 12:28 pm (UTC -4)
Man, this whole things has been crazy to follow the past day or two. This is the kinda thing I was hoping to see from Sandy, actively improving the team without just signing the biggest name he could like Omar.
Very curious to see how it all plays out, though it’s disheartening to see a character assassination article (davidoff).
srt
12/15/2012-1:03pm at 1:03 pm (UTC -4)
You know how it is with these beat writers. They’re all climbing over each others backs to be the first to report something and sometimes come up with controversial rhetoric to get clicks and get the same attention he’s accusing Dickey of.
darknova306
12/15/2012-1:25pm at 1:25 pm (UTC -4)
Tweet from Howard Megdal that I found amusing:
“Never forget story that ran day Mets traded Gandhi. Teammates respected him, didn’t love him abstaining at team meals. Made them feel fat.”
Hah!
Hank
12/15/2012-6:22pm at 6:22 pm (UTC -4)
This has been the longest wait and see until finalized trade in the history of wait and see until finalized Mets-Blue Jays trades.
srt
12/15/2012-7:56pm at 7:56 pm (UTC -4)
If this were 30 years ago, we wouldn’t have heard anything about this trade until it was almost a done deal.
#BlameTechnology
greggofboken
12/15/2012-9:01pm at 9:01 pm (UTC -4)
Rubin posted something earlier today that in 2010 Mike Jacobs was traded for a player to be named later. And to date he’s never been named.
(Unless it was Taylor Bucholz and they just never told him what was going on for the sake of his personal pride.)