The New York Mets have several holes to fill, particularly in the outfield.
The greatest area of depth is their rotation, headlined by 38-year-old NL Cy Young contender R.A. Dickey.
The knuckleballer posted a 2.73 ERA and 1.053 WHIP in a NL-high 233.2 innings in 2012. He also led the NL in complete games (five), shutouts (three) and strikeouts (230).
He has one year and $5 million remaining on his current contract and to date the Mets have shown no inclination to sign him to a long-term deal.
It makes perfect sense for the Mets to listen to offers for Dickey and on Thursday during a scrum with reporters at the GM Meetings, GM Sandy Alderson did little to squash the speculation.
Sandy Alderson on R.A. Dickey: “It would be a little unusual to trade a Cy Young winner.” He’s already assuming Dickey will win. @mlbonfox
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 8, 2012
Word is #mets seek OF and catching help in dickey trade talks. Haven’t abandoned hope for extension, but exploring trades 2
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 8, 2012
At no point in remarks did Sandy Alderson rule out possibility of Dickey trade.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 8, 2012
Trading Dickey wouldn’t be popular. But considering the pitching market as it stands, one NL exec on Mets: “They’d be crazy not to listen.”
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) November 8, 2012
Trading Dickey won’t help Mets sell tickets, but easy to argue it would be best for building team that eventually contends.
— DKnobler (@DKnobler) November 8, 2012
How uncertain is the Mets outfield situation?
In reality, if Mets needed to field a team today — they don’t — Lucas Duda would be in LF, Kirk Nieuwenhuis in CF and I don’t know in RF.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) November 8, 2012
Mets GM Sandy Alderson, on his OF: “What outfield? We’re going to bring those fences in another 150 feet.”
— DKnobler (@DKnobler) November 8, 2012
