Shaun Marcum isn’t headed to spring training under the illusion he is filling R.A. Dickey’s rotation spot for the Mets.
“That will be tough to fill, having one person do it,” Marcum said yesterday, after his one-year contract worth $4 million with the Mets became official. “If all five starters go out there and do their jobs, stay healthy and get the goal of 200-plus innings, then I think that will fill R.A.’s shoes in itself — having those five guys make 30-plus starts.”
Dickey, who won the NL Cy Young award in 2012, was traded to Toronto last month as part of a seven-player deal that brought Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, Wuilmer Becerra and John Buck to the Mets.
As far as the 31-year-old Marcum is concerned, the veteran catcher Buck might be the best component of the deal, at least for now. The two worked together with the Blue Jays in 2010, when Marcum went 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA.
“At least the way I look at it, that was probably my best season in the big leagues,” Marcum said.
Marcum is tied more strongly to Mets special assistant J.P. Ricciardi, who as Blue Jays general manager drafted the right-hander in 2003.
“I know he had some say in getting me here,” Marcum said.
“The other thing for me was an opportunity to go out and pitch, make 30-plus starts and an opportunity to go out and throw over 200 innings. I think that is every starter’s goal. They are giving me the opportunity to do that and that was something I couldn’t pass up.”
Marcum went 7-4 with a 3.40 ERA in 21 starts for the Brewers last season, but missed two months because of right elbow soreness. He said there were no complications with the elbow after he was removed from the disabled list in August.
“I feel great, healthy finally, and looking forward to getting out there and taking the ball every fifth day, and trying to go out there and help the Mets organization win baseball games,” Marcum said. “That’s my number one goal, other than the innings and making my starts, all I want to do is go out there and help these guys win ballgames.”
Mets have two top 10 prospects
In a ranking of the game’s best 100 prospects by MLB.com, d’Arnaud was sixth and Zack Wheeler eighth, making the Mets the only team in baseball with two players in the top 10.
Syndergaard was ranked 29th. The Mariners were the only other team with three players ranked in the top 30.