After a couple of seasons marred by injuries and overall slip in production, Mets third baseman David Wright has certainly picked the right time to recapture the form that made him an elite player throughout the first few years of his career. With a potential foray into free agency looming after 2013, the right-handed hitter has been worth 5.8 WAR so far in 2012 according to fangraphs, positioning him nicely for extension talks that both he and the Mets have suggested they'd like to explore. Here's the latest on Wright and the Mets, from Mike Puma of the New York Post …

Wright is "optimistic" that he and the Mets can reach agreement on a long-term extension, though he cautioned that winning is more important to him than money alone: “The money issue for me, I don’t think that will be the deciding factor,” Wright said. He's pleased with the organization's recent direction but characterized it as a "baby step" and said there's still a way to go before the team has fully turned the corner to becoming perennial playoff contenders.

Further, as has been the case this season, Wright will not engage in talks during the 2013 campaign, so it appears the window for the sides to reach an extension would be during this upcoming offseason. Wright promises he will be listening if and when the Mets come to discuss a new deal, though: “Coming up through the system, I have a tremendous amount of loyalty to this organization,” Wright said. “I can’t tell you what the future holds, but I’m hoping — optimistic — that something will get done.”

The Mets, of course, hold a $16MM option on Wright for 2013, which they are almost certain to exercise. It has been speculated that Wright's next contract will very likely break the nine-figure barrier.

New York also holds a 2013 option on 38-year-old knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, this one for a more modest $5MM. And, like Wright, Dickey wants to remain a Met but would prefer not to enter into in-season extension talks in 2013, according to Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. Again, that would leave only the upcoming offseason for the sides to hammer out a possible extension.

People with knowledge of the situation said that the Mets and Dickey did briefly discuss a short-term extension earlier this season — a deal that would have at least kept the pitcher in New York through 2014 — although the team decided to wait and see how the season would play out. Dickey has since pitched like a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate, although the extension talks earlier this season never included salary talks on par with a pitcher of that caliber.

Despite Dickey's age, a rival NL executive told McCullough that the right-hander should be able to command at least a three-year contract after 2013:

“With his kind of knuckleball, you’ve got to believe [he can last] three or four more years, at least. He’s got such great makeup. He’s going to keep himself in great condition. He’s going to keep that edge for quite a while.”