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R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball may have to dance north of the border next season.
According to industry sources, the Mets and Blue Jays were in “serious” discussions last night on a trade that would send the NL Cy Young Award winner to Toronto for stud catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud and perhaps another player.
Dickey’s contract situation remained a potential hurdle in the deal. The right-hander is signed for $5 million in 2013, but can become a free agent next offseason and, according to sources, wasn’t showing a willingness to sign an extension with the Blue Jays if dealt.
The Mets have also talked to the Rangers and Orioles in recent days, but neither remained in the picture last night, according to sources.
Earlier this week, Dickey indicated he was not pleased with the Mets’ most recent contract offer — a two-year extension worth $20 million, according to sources — and wouldn’t be surprised if he were traded. Dickey’s asking price from the Mets was $26 million over two years, beginning in 2014.
Dickey, who went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA last season, would give the Blue Jays a missing piece to their rotation, as they attempt to go for broke in the AL East next season. The Blue Jays have already added Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck in a trade with the Marlins and signed outfielder Melky Cabrera.
In return for Dickey, the Mets would fill a hole behind the plate.
The 23-year-old d’Arnaud batted .333 with 16 homers and 52 RBIs in 67 games at Triple-A Las Vegas last season before a knee injury ended his season in late June. He is widely regarded as the game’s top catching prospect.
Baseball America ranked d’Arnaud as the best hitter in the Blue Jays’ system, for both power and batting average. The former first-round draft pick was sent to the Blue Jays as part of the deal that brought Roy Halladay to the Phillies in 2009. Prior to last season, d’Arnaud was rated by Baseball America as the 17th-best prospect in baseball.
Originally, there was thought the Mets might have to settle for catcher J.P. Arencibia in a deal that might have included outfield prospect Anthony Gose.
At the very least, the Mets are hoping the righty hitting d’Arnaud would share time behind the plate with Josh Thole next season. The Mets’ latest search for catching help began in August, when they gave veteran Kelly Shoppach essentially a six-week audition. But Shoppach, who arrived in a waiver deal with the Red Sox, hit only .203 for the Mets.
The Mets began actively shopping Dickey during the Winter Meetings and as recently as Wednesday considered four teams as “serious” contenders for the pitcher. All along, the Mets have been adamant about receiving multiple prospects for Dickey, so it remains to be seen if there is another component to the trade for d’Arnaud.
If a deal can’t be struck, the Mets still could choose to bring back Dickey next season to play out his contract. But it became evident this week that such an arrangement could become messy.
Dickey angered team brass on Tuesday by using a holiday party at Citi Field benefitting local school children affected by Hurricane Sandy as a forum to voice his displeasure with contract negotiations. So getting a resolution to Dickey’s status remains a priority.