Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey has reached an agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a two-year, $25 million extension, pending a physical, that will allow Toronto and the New York Mets to complete their trade, sources tell ESPN's Buster Olney.
Dickey will be getting the dollar value that he had requested in failed extension talks with the Mets. Some of the money will be paid out immediately this year, along with his $5 million salary, in the form of a signing bonus to offset the difference in taxes between the United States and Canada. The sides are still haggling over how much money will be front-loaded, sources said.
News of an agreement was reported earlier by the Toronto Sun and FoxSports.com.
ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin reported earlier Monday that the Mets will receive highly regarded catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud and Class A right-hander Noah Syndergaard from Toronto. The teams also will exchange catchers, with Josh Thole headed to Toronto and John Buck to the Mets.
The Blue Jays will include cash to lessen the Mets' responsibility for Buck's $6 million salary. Other prospects also will be included in the trade, a league source said. Before talks broke down with New York, Dickey sought a two-year extension worth at least $26 million on top of the existing amount owed. Dickey will join a formidable Toronto rotation that also is projected to include newcomers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle via the much-talked-about trade with Miami earlier this offseason, as well as Brandon Morrow and Ricky Romero.
A journeyman pitcher who honed the knuckleball out of desperation and who was the first castoff to Mets minor league camp during spring training in 2010, Dickey at age 37 became a first-time All-Star, the franchise's first 20-game winner since Frank Viola and a Cy Young winner while composing a franchise-record 32 2/3-inning scoreless streak this past season. During 2012, he also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and opened up in a memoir about the sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
Dickey will become the fourth reigning Cy Young winner to be traded before the start of the next season, joining David Cone, Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens.
D'Arnaud is the centerpiece of the deal for the rebuilding Mets, although the 20-year-old Syndergaard is viewed as a potential front-line starter in future seasons. D'Arnaud hit .333 with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs in 67 games last season with Triple-A Las Vegas before his season ended June 25 when he suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee sliding into second base.
Here is another surprising stat about the Dickey trade. For the second offseason in a row, a Mets award winner has left the team after winning the award to go to another ball club. Jose Reyes won the batting title in 2011 with the Mets, then signed for the 2012 season with the Marlins. Another surprising not is that the teams in the deal switched catchers as well, with Josh Thole going to Toronto and John Buck coming to the Mets.
This may mean a few good things for the Mets. They may possibly get some more offensive stability out of the catcher position, which to be quite honest has been lacking ever since Mike Piazza left. Here is some more food for thought. As most people who follow the Mets can tell you, there are still a lot of holes left to be filled with this baseball club.Ever since 2006 the Mets have not had a solid middle infield or a solid outfield at all. As it sits right now, the corner infield is pretty much set for a long time with Ike Davis at first and David Wright at 3rd. As for 2nd base it will be a mix bag as of now of Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner, and Jordany Valdespin. As for shortstop it looks like Jordany Valdespin, and Rubén Tejada. Plus the outfield just lost not only Jason bay, who really hasn't done a thing while playing in New York, and Andres Torres, who signed back with the Giants. So now the Mets outfield consists of Mike Baxter, Lucas Duda and Kirk Nieuwenhuis.
If the Mets even want to possibly sniff being a 500 ball club next season there is a lot of work to be done. They need to find a consistent leadoff hitter who can fill the role everyday and get on base to get the offense kickstarted. They need outfielders who can play steady ball and finally they need a middle infield that won't possibly leave you scratching you're head. There is still a lot of offseason to go so things could change between now and April when the season starts, but in all honestly it doesn't look too good for the Mets in 2013.
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