R.A. Dickey doesn’t know whether he will be traded or extended this offseason, and he understands all the things Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has to think about moving forward. But the fan-favorite knuckleballer knows one thing.
“I don’t want to go, let’s put it that way,” Dickey told MLB.com last night in Denver, where he accepted the Branch Rickey Award for humanitarian service in baseball. “I like being a Met.”
Dickey’s sentiment is nothing new, but in recent days the possibility of him being traded seems to have increased.
Dickey, 38, who went 20-6 this season, is the Mets’ first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990 and is a top contender for the Cy Young award. Nevertheless, the Mets might decide to trade Dickey rather than extend his contract past next year given his age and considerable value to other teams. The Post’s Joel Sherman reported this week the team is targeting young power hitters, especially outfielders.
“I understand the business that I’m in,” Dickey said. “I’ve always understood it’s a possibility and there would be no acrimony. It’s not an acrimonious situation. Sandy is doing his due diligence because that’s what he’s paid to do for the New York Mets. I can hold it the way it’s supposed to be held. I don’t take it personally.”
Dickey said he expects things “to crystallize in the next couple of weeks or a month, before the Winter Meetings, hopefully.”
He said he’s good with whatever scenario takes place, but his “preference is with the Mets.”
“I love the fan base,” he said. “My family loves it there. It’s a two-hour, direct flight from [his hometown of] Nashville. It’s beautiful.”