NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Presented with a bear market, the Mets chose hibernation for the Winter Meetings.
Team brass vacated the Gaylord Opryland hotel Thursday with a better idea about the trade and free-agents markets, but without new players in tow. Most notably, R.A. Dickey’s status remained unresolved.
“It’s always nice to see something tangible at the end of the meetings,” general manager Sandy Alderson said. “But we feel that we’ve made solid progress on a number of different fronts, so we’ll go back to New York and continue to pursue certain things and go from there.”
With Dickey and the Mets still about $10 million apart on a two-year contract extension, trade discussions will continue concerning the NL Cy Young Award winner.
In an effort to gauge the Yankees’ interest in Dickey, the Mets contacted Brian Cashman at the meetings and asked the Yankees general manager if he wanted to talk.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Cashman met with Mets officials in the Mets’ suite. Cashman was described as “curious’’ to see what prospects the Mets wanted from the Yankees for the knuckleballer.
It’s not known what the Mets were looking for, but the conversation didn’t progress.
Having signed Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda to join CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and David Phelps, the Yankees believe they have enough starting pitching and are focused on filling holes at catcher and right field.
Alderson acknowledged it’s possible the Mets will have to wait until free-agent Zack Greinke is signed before a market truly develops for Dickey. Alderson has spoken to at least seven teams about the 38-year-old knuckleballer, with many in the industry viewing Texas as the best potential trade partner for the Mets. But that is provided the Rangers don’t sign Greinke.
The Blue Jays, Royals, Diamondbacks and Dodgers are among the other teams that have shown interest in Dickey. But the Mets also haven’t made headway in convincing teams to part with top prospects for Dickey.
According to sources, the Mets still seek a top prospect such as Toronto’s Travis d’Arnaud, Kansas City’s Wil Myers or Texas’ Mike Olt in a return package for Dickey.
Behind curtain C is the possibility Dickey will return for $5 million, without an extension, and play out his contract in 2013.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily the optimum result, but it’s a possible result, and if that is the one that ultimately transpires, we’ll be happy with that,” Alderson said.
“Things are moving forward on two tracks. We’re looking for a better offer, a trade offer, [but] we’re also still exploring bringing R.A. back, so it’s a combination of those things.”
The Mets continue to evaluate options in the outfield and catcher. A club official acknowledged the Mets are discouraged by the market for catchers, and Alderson did nothing to dispel the notion by saying it’s possible the team could go to spring training with a combination of Josh Thole and Anthony Recker at catcher.
“We’ve explored the trade market — that doesn’t look all that promising at the moment,” Alderson said. “But the free-agent market is also thin.”
Alderson said there haven’t been many trade conversations involving Jon Niese. And the outfield situation remains muddled, as the club tries to decide on retaining Scott Hairston, who is seeking a two-year contract. But if the Mets sign Hairston, they probably won’t be in the market for another free-agent outfielder, according to a team official.
“The thing that will happen leaving these meetings is clubs will sort of reassess the market and draw some conclusions about whether it’s going to continue to be hot, whether it’s going to soften,” Alderson said.
“But I think most clubs will go back to their organizations and try to determine that and then move forward, which is what we’ll do.”
* The Mets selected lefty reliever Kyle Lobstein from the Rays in the Rule 5 draft, but dealt him to the Tigers for cash considerations.— Additional reporting by George A. King III