Should Mets Wait for Greinke Before Signing Dickey?
As much as I prefer to see the Mets lock up R.A. Dickey for the foreseeable future as soon as possible, from a cold-hearted business perspective, it may behoove the Mets to wait until Zack Greinke signs before extending their knuckleballer. Why? Because there are several teams in play for Greinke’s services — most notably, the Angels, Dodgers, and Rangers. There are also rumors that the Blue Jays, Nationals, Orioles, Brewers, or Royals could be in the mix. The two LA teams and the Rangers, though, seem to be the frontrunners, and most desperate to sign the righthander. Only one of those three teams can add Greinke, leaving the other two empty-handed. And that’s where the Mets come in with R.A. Dickey — because whomever doesn’t get Greinke, will still be in the market for a front-end starting pitcher. The next-best starter on the free-agent market is Anibal Sanchez, who is pretty good, but not on the level of Greinke or Dickey.
Again, my preference is to see R.A. in a Mets uniform in 2013, but the unemotional business side of me thinks it might be best to wait and see what happens with Zack Greinke, and then get a true read of what Dickey’s value might be on the trade market.
What do you think? Is it worth the wait? Are there youngsters on any of those teams that you’d like to see come the Mets’ way in a deal for Dickey? Answer in the comments.
About the Author
Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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trade Dickey because they can’t sign him then they need
to get the best package they can for him and should offer a
team a window to sign him to an extention because no
team is going to give you a great package for him if he’s
only a one year rental! I would also trade david Wright too
because if he has the same type of first half in 2013 that
he had in the second half of 2012 they won’t get anything for him! Trade both of them ASAP while they still have a
lot of value! I would give Flores a shot at third and if he
doesn’t work out move Murphy to third and put Turner
at second! As far as upseting the fan base with these
trades if the mets can’t sign one or both of them they
will lose them anyway and get only a draft pick in return
so this would be the better way to go!
Happy Holidays
I agree it is a travesty that a Major League team based in New York City operates like an independent minor league team in a dry town with one traffic light and surrounded by corn fields. Maybe MLB should move the Mets out of Flushing and fold the organization into that of the KC Royals.
I agree that it can’t hurt RA’s trade value to wait for Greinke to get off the market. However, the Mets can’t sit around and do nothing all winter. Yes, RA and DW are prioirities, but it’s now time to you-know-what or get off the pot for the multi-million dollar GM. They have holes to fill now, not in 2014, if they expect anyone to actually pay to see the team in 2013.
Instead the Mets need to consider trading trading from their depth to include Niese. Consider that we have RA, Johan, Niese, Gee, Pelfrey, Harvey, Wheeler, familia, Jenry & Hefner vying for consideration in 2013. Carson and Elvin also will get looks in the pen.
And Craig: I’m with you on Wright. There are MANY internal options including Zach Lutz, Turner and Flores for 3rd.
Now that the club has picked him up for 2013, there’s nothing he can do to stop a trade. Same deal with Dickey.
I’d be open to dealing both players, depending on what’s coming back our way – FWIW.