NASHVILLE, Tenn. — This might be the holiday season, but the Mets aren’t about to gift wrap R.A. Dickey and donate him to another team.
Underwhelmed by offers for the NL Cy Young Award winner, general manager Sandy Alderson yesterday acknowledged there is a solid possibility he will depart the Winter Meetings tomorrow with Dickey still in limbo.
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“It’s really hard for me to guess where this is all going to be going,” Alderson said.
The Mets and Dickey remain apart on terms of a contract extension that would lock up the 38-year-old knuckleballer beyond next season. And the Mets, according to sources, haven’t made headway in convincing potential trade partners to part with top prospects for Dickey.
The Blue Jays, Royals, Dodgers and Rangers remain among the potential trade partners with the Mets. Dickey’s agent, Bo McKinnis, yesterday admitted a return to Texas would be appealing for the right-hander, who was drafted by the Rangers and spent 10 seasons in the organization. But McKinnis also reiterated Dickey’s desire is to remain with the Mets.
“If you stopped R.A. on the street and said, ‘What do you want to have happen?’ He’s still going to say ‘I want to stay with the Mets,’ ” McKinnis said. “But if you pursue the conversation a little deeper, he’ll say, ‘I want good things for the Mets.’ ”
A two-year extension has been discussed, according to an industry source. McKinnis would only say multiple possibilities remain on the table.
“There’s something longer term that would appeal to us and there’s something shorter term that would appeal to us, and that’s what I get from [the Mets] as well,” McKinnis said.
Alderson was asked if Dickey would automatically be signed should his dollar demands drop to what the Mets have offered. Or would Alderson continue to evaluate trade options?
”I think we’ve always said we would like to sign R.A. and keep him in New York,” Alderson said. “Assuming that sentiment remains the same, that [scenario] would probably close the door [on a trade].”
Alderson said no timetable has been set for resolving the issue, but indicated he would like to have closure. Among the possibilities is letting Dickey play out his contract next year, or at least begin the season with the Mets.
“I do think there is a natural conclusion that all of this will have,” Alderson said. “You can only keep things on the table for so long, so there will come a time when this will have to be resolved.”
McKinnis said contract discussions have been cordial.
“We’ve had nothing confrontational, no bad words,” he said. “I do think the David Wright [negotiations] caused us a little bit of a drag. Obviously that took considerable time. Things such as talking terms on the contract, we’re open to several different ideas and they are open to several different ideas.”
* Ryan Ludwick and Mark Reynolds are both on the Mets’ radar as potential free-agent outfield help, according to The Post’s Ken Davidoff. The Mets’ prefer Ludwick. … Alderson indicated he met with Scott Hairston’s agent yesterday, but indicated nothing was imminent regarding the free agent outfielder.