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R.A. Dickey

Mets Notes: Wright, Dickey, Pelfrey, Davis

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The Mets will “turn over” the roster this coming offseason, team sources tell Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Here are the details, starting with the team’s franchise player…

  • Team officials remain optimistic that they’ll be able to retain David Wright long-term, Rubin reports. Mets executives hope the third baseman will succeed Tom Seaver as the unofficial ambassador for the organization once he retires as a player, according to Rubin. Wright told Rubin over the weekend that he hopes his next contract will cover the remainder of his playing career.
  • Relievers Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez are expected to leave as free agents after the season, Rubin reports.
  • Rubin hears from Mets sources that Andres Torres and Mike Pelfrey will likely be non-tendered this winter.
  • R.A. Dickey’s contract includes a club option for 2013 that will surely be exercised, but his long-term future with the organization is not entirely secure, according to Rubin. Mets executives seem wary of making a “sizable commitment” to the Cy Young candidate.
  • One Mets person said the team would require “a boatload” to part with Ike Davis, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Red Sox had two scouts in attendance at last night’s Mets-Marlins game and could have interest in trading for the first time arbitration eligible first baseman, Heyman reports.

R.A. Dickey Discusses Possible Extension

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Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey expects that there will be a difference between his upcoming extension talks with the Mets and the contract discussions that took place before the 2011 season, when he signed for two-years and $7.5MM. Dickey, now in the midst of a Cy Young caliber season at age 37, says he has “more leverage” this time, according to Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger.

“This mentality is different,” Dickey said. “Because I’ve done that now. I have more freedom to really weigh things.”

The Mets will exercise Dickey’s $5MM option for 2013 once the current season ends, but general manager Sandy Alderson has publicly repeated his intention to lock the knuckleballer up beyond next year. The Mets had some negotiations with Dickey during the 2012 season with the intention of extending him for at least one additional season.

Dickey suggested he and David Wright are a “package deal” to an extent, McCullough reports. The Mets are expected to exercise Wright’s 2013 option once the regular season ends then pursue an extension. If the Mets don’t work to extend the third baseman beyond 2013, Dickey will take note.

“I think it would be a message to everybody that they’re content to spend the next five or six years rebuilding this organization,” he said.

Opposing executives believe Dickey can continue succeeding for years, according to McCullough. One executive suggested Dickey would have a chance at a four-year contract if he hits free agency after the 2013 season.

Mets Notes: Davis, Wright, Dickey

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Mets general manager Sandy Alderson offered some insight into the team’s offseason plans in an interview with Gary Cohen and Ron Darling of SNY on last night’s Mets broadcast (transcript via Andrew Keh of the New York Times). Here are the details…

  • Alderson suggested rival teams won't "put a lot of stock in" the report that the Mets are frustrated with Ike Davis’ attitude and lifestyle. The Mets dealt with the matter internally and are not looking to trade Davis, according to Alderson. “For us to trade a guy that’s hit 30 home runs, we better know where the next 30 are coming from,” he said.
  • Alderson repeated that the Mets are interested in extending David Wright and R.A. Dickey this offseason. “Our intent is to work hard to try to keep them both,” he said. The Mets are expected to exercise 2013 options for both players then discuss long-term contracts.
  • The Mets aren’t likely to spend big on outfielders this offseason, Andy Martino reported earlier today.

National League Notes: Huntington, Dickey, Scully

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On this day in baseball history in 1939, NBC televised the first Major League baseball game using an experimental station W2XBS. Viewers were privy to a doubleheader between the Reds and Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Here's the latest news and headlines from around the National League…

  • The exercise of calling up players for the month of September has changed for Pirates general manager Neal Huntington, writes Karen Price of the Tribune-Review. Instead of giving raw prospects a taste of the big leagues, Huntington will be looking to add minor leaguers who can help his team win games with an eye on the playoffs and provide manager Clint Hurdle an extra weapon off the bench. “The makeup of our club at midnight on Aug. 31 is the makeup of our club on Oct. 5, provided we take care of business and we get there,” Huntington said. “So that’s a little different, to try to put together an Oct. 5 roster on Aug. 31.”
  • Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told season-ticket holders on Sunday that the Mets would love to retain R.A. Dickey on a long-term deal, writes Spencer Fordin of MLB.com. Word got back to the knuckleballer, who expressed a similar desire to call Citi Field home for years to come. "I love it here and I've always voiced that," said Dickey. "A part of me enjoys being loyal to an organization that's given me a shot. I connect well with the fan base, [the media] has always been good and I'm comfortable here. That says a lot for me and where I am in my career."
  • Legendary play-by-play broadcaster Vin Scully announced on Sunday that he will return to the Dodgers for the 2013 season marking his 64th year with the franchise. The Hall of Famer will turn 85 in November but remains enthused as ever about the Dodgers given the team's new ownership group, says Stephen Borelli of USA Today. "The new ownership of the Dodgers has revitalized the city, the team, the fans and myself," Scully. "I am so convinced of their great purpose and leadership that I eagerly look forward to joining them in pursuit of the next Dodgers championship."

NL East Notes: Mets, Braves, McCann, Wright

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It has been a tough year for the Mets and it doesn't seem like the club is in position to back up a Brink's truck to reload in 2013.  Recently, it was reported that General Manager Sandy Alderson will basically working with the same payroll next year with the lid being in the neighborhood of $90MM.  Here's more out of Queens and other items from the National League East..

  • Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson said that he expects David Wright to be with the team for the future at a Q&A session for season ticket holders, tweets Matt Ehalt of ESPNNewYork.com.  Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) notes that it takes two to tango, however, and the question isn't whether the Mets want Wright back.
  • During that same gathering, Alderson also said he expects R.A. Dickey to be with the Mets "long-term," writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Dickey and Wright have options for 2013 that will be exercised by the club, but Alderson will not wait until the pair hit free agency to negotiate. "It's not our intention to simply rely on those options and go into next season and deal with their free agency after 2013," the GM explained.
  • The Red Sox-Dodgers blockbuster underscores the tough situation that the Mets are currently facing, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman wonders why the Mets never looked at the Dodgers' need at third base and pitch them on Wright plus a bad contract or two in exchange for payroll relief and prospects.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Brian McCann is playing his way out of a big contract as he struggles to fight through a pair of injuries in his right shoulder.  The Braves hold a $12MM option on McCann for next season, making this winter the ideal time to discuss a new deal.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

The Latest On David Wright, R.A. Dickey

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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.”

NL East Notes: Murphy, Capuano, Dickey, Fish, Phils

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The Mets and Dodgers could help each other with a trade of Daniel Murphy for a reliever, speculates ESPN's Buster Olney.  While the Mets need bullpen help, the Dodgers would use Murphy at third base, which the Mets feel is his best position (and where he's blocked by David Wright in New York).  The two sides came close to a trade involving Murphy last December.

Here's the latest from around the NL East…

  • R.A. Dickey had to struggle just to stick with the Mets, relates Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal in this story of how Dickey went from being the low man on the Mets roster to one of baseball's biggest surprises of 2012.
  • The Mets passed on re-signing Chris Capuano since they didn't think the lefty could handle a starting role and wasn't worth a two-year contract, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  Capuano has enjoyed a big comeback season with the Dodgers, with whom he signed a two-year, $10MM deal last winter.
  • Several of the Marlins' top executives were called to Miami for a meeting today, according to Clark Spencer of the MIami Herald.  Sources are split on whether the meeting is standard business or "is anything but" normal procedure, as Spencer figures the club's disastrous June record will be the major topic of conversation in either case.
  • David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News breaks down how much payroll the Phillies have spent by position over the last five seasons, with the bullpen getting less of a share every year.
  • If you missed it earlier tonight, the Phillies have explored trading Jim Thome to an American League team.

Quick Hits: Dickey, Mariners, Byrd

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The Yankees signed right-hander Cory Wade on this date last year, just two days after the Rays released him. The 29-year-old has pitched 67 total innings for the Yankees in the past year and he owns a 2.28 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in pinstripes. Here are today's links…

  • Mets right-hander R.A. Dickey told Newsday’s David Lennon that he hopes "to be the best pitcher in the big leagues." The 37-year-old knuckleballer has a 2.44 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 81 innings heading into tonight's start against the Rays. The Mets figure to exercise his 2013 option after the season.
  • George Soto, the son of Dominican trainer Enrique Soto, presented himself as four years younger than he really was when he signed a $700K deal with the Mariners in 2007, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Soto was 21 when he signed, not 17, as he suggested.
  • There have been a number of inquiries on outfielder Marlon Byrd, but no deal is imminent, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports (on Twitter). The Red Sox released Byrd yesterday, making the ACES client a free agent.

Dickey Hoping For Contract Extension With Mets

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R.A. Dickey owns a 3.13 ERA in parts of three seasons with the Mets, and he'll earn $4.25MM this year before a $5MM club option ($300K buyout) comes into play for 2013. Dickey is thinking beyond next season though, admitting to Mike Puma of The New York Post that he is open to a contract extension.

"I like it here and I want to be here,” he said. “I feel like the team is moving in the right direction, and I want to be a part of the solution. Now it’s up to them. If I’m in those plans, [addressing the contract] is one way to make it known."

Dickey, 37, is one of the biggest bargains in baseball and as Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote in our Contract Issues series, the club is very likely to exercise his option. He signed a two-year, $7.8MM deal prior to last season and an extension could look very similar, another year or two at $5-6MM annually on top of the option for 2013.

Mets Notes: Dickey, Pelfrey, Baxter, Edgin

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Three of the NL East teams generated considerable buzz with their offseason moves, but the Mets and Braves remained relatively quiet. Here's the latest on the Mets via Andy Martino of the New York Daily News…

  • The Mets are considering numerous options regarding R.A. Dickey's contract, Martino reports. The club views the knuckleballer as someone who can contribute for years and they may preemptively guarantee his 2013 option at $5MM. 
  • I don't see the value in doing this from the team perspective unless Dickey agrees to add club options for later years. Otherwise there's minimal benefit to guaranteeing the option now in my view.
  • The Mets considered releasing Mike Pelfrey in a recent meeting, but on-field staff didn't favor the idea and it was dismissed, Martino writes. Releasing the right-hander before Opening Day would save the Mets nearly $5MM, since his contract is non-guaranteed.
  • Mike Baxter will make the Mets unless they acquire someone from outside of the organization, Martino writes.
  • Left-handed reliever Josh Edgin "has opened a lot of eyes," a club official told Martino. Edgin won't make the Opening Day roster, but he could join the team at some point.
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