MLB

R.A. trade may be wise for Mets — even if he wins Cy Young

Whether R.A. Dickey wins, places or shows Wednesday night, as we learn the identities of the National League and American League Cy Young Award winners, the Mets should take this moment to celebrate themselves and their baseball savvy.

It was Omar Minaya, a scout at heart, who took a flier on Dickey in December 2009, offering him a minor-league contract at a time when the right-hander and his fledgling knuckeball had worn out four organizations in four seasons.

It was general manager Sandy Alderson, hired to evaluate talent through an emotion-free lens, who — having analyzed Dickey’s impressive Mets debut in 2010 — decided the guy was no fluke and committed to what turned out to be an incredibly team-friendly, three-year, $12-million contract.

So give the Mets their moment. And then, if you’re a Mets fan, hope the team learns from these examples and continues to hit big on Dickey moving forward.

That means being proactive and operating without emotion.

It means trading Dickey if the return is attractive enough.

Alderson and his lieutenants already have initiated multiple tracks on the Dickey decision. They are discussing an extension with Dickey, who can be a free agent after earning $5 million to pitch in 2013, and they also have initiated trade talks with interested teams.

What’s a fair extension price for Dickey? His case seems so unique that it’s difficult to find common ground. Unless Dickey is willing to take a significant hometown discount — let’s say three years and $30 million, starting in 2014 and going through 2016 — then it makes sense for the Mets to give themselves the one more relatively free look they earned on this guy.

That could be with the 2013 Mets, making their starting rotation a significant strength — third-best in the National League East (behind the Nationals and Phillies) headed into the season, with the potential to climb even higher.

Or, given how badly the Mets need outfielders and offense, that “free look” on Dickey could be using him as a desired trade chip.

Pitchers with a year left on their contracts no longer have the value they once did. Most teams would rather acquire arms they can control for an extended period. Witness the haul Oakland took back last offseason for young pitchers Andrew Bailey, Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez.

There exist two mitigating factors with Dickey that could raise his price in a swap, though. One is his relatively low salary, which would allow most teams to acquire him and still have money left over to shop for more players.

The other is his potential victory tonight. If Dickey can prevail over the Nationals’ Gonzalez and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, he would represent more than just a frontline addition for any team’s starting rotation. Dickey also would be a human marketing plan. He would be the first Cy Young winner traded in the winter of his celebration since the Expos dealt Pedro Martinez to the Red Sox in the 1997-98 offseason.

That would be odd yet fitting company for the Mets to keep. Like those Expos, the Mets are very cost-conscious at the moment. Like those Expos, the Mets have multiple holes to fill.

Unlike the great Pedro, who was 26 at the time, Dickey probably doesn’t have another 12 major-league seasons in him, no matter how freaky knuckleballers are.

Mets COO Jeff Wilpon told reporters Tuesday getting Dickey (and David Wright) signed is the team’s first priority. It appears most Mets fans can see the bigger picture and are perfectly comfortable with the upside of trading Dickey now, assuming the return package is attractive. Or, if teams aren’t as interested as we think, holding on to him and reassessing his trade market next summer.

During a very dark time for the Mets, Dickey has been the franchise’s shining light, a come-from-nowhere tale of triumph over adversity. More important, he has been testimony to baseball smarts by two Mets administrations.

We probably won’t see another crazy narrative like Dickey’s for a very long time. What we need to keep seeing, in order for the Mets to be far more relevant, is front-office intelligence. What better test case than the NL Cy Young winner, runner-up or third-place finisher?