2012/2013 MLB Offseason Thread

[thatshortguy]

Somehow even in the offseason the Cubs find a way to lose.

This is why I love the Cubbies. Even if they were to acquire someone, the only reaction now would be patting them on the head and saying "D'awww, they think they're people."

[HailtotheYo]

Or better yet they could just not be cheap shits and give Dickey what he's asking for which really isn't much to begin with.

13m a year for a 38yr old with one stellar year and 9 not so stellar years seems a bit much to me. Hell, even the 10m per year they're offering seems a bit much for his age/track record.

[The Buscher]

The Mets have an offer from the Blue Jays that they like for Dickey. However, the Jays want Dickey to sign an extension right away and Dickey doesn't want to.

Apparently the offer is only Arencibia and Gose. Hopefully Dickey doesn't sign the extension. That's a terrible return for a Cy Young Award winner.

[Ananas]

Honestly if JP Arencibia is an upgrade over Josh Thole it's pretty marginal. Gose is toolsy but still surprisingly raw for a Triple A player. It does seem light. Wouldn't be surprised if there was an arm in there too. Can't see D'Arnaud in the deal though. Too big league ready to move for 1 year of control.

[Ananas]

@Ken_Rosenthal

Sources: D'Arnaud very much in play in Dickey talks between #BlueJays and #Mets. Deal would be bigger, multiple pieces going both ways.

Oh dear. It's gonna be one of those AA trades.

[Toe]

...and somehow, the Jays end up with David Wright and everyone else good on the Mets.

[Lowerdeck]

Where do you see that?

And at this rate, the Red Sox will finish last in the AL East - even if they float near .500. Everyone else is just dangerous in the Division of Death.

[Pizza]

I assume that was a joke.

[The Buscher]

The only variables being unanimously confirmed are Dickey and d'Arnaud, with the Jays demanding Dickey agree to a 2 year extension before the trade is finalized.

Gose has been rumored, some writers saying he is included and some saying he isn't.

Conjecture says the Mets may include Josh Thole as a throw-in, since he is familiar with Dickey's unique knuckleball.

Also it's being said that the Jays are expecting a "top Mets prospect" in return. But really, outside of Harvey and Wheeler they have no untouchables. I'd imagine that they'd consider taking Wilmer Flores or Aderlin Rodriguez, both of whom are 3B by trade and have nowhere to play with Wright officially locked in long-term.

[Ananas]

I'm torn about a package including both Gose and D'Arnaud. It'd be depressing if the sum total of return for Roy Halladay was 1 year of control over Dickey (even if they extend him immediately, all they're acquiring is one year from the Mets). I don't have much hope for Drabek at this point, and those two are definitely the most exciting offensive prospects left in the system. I can talk myself into accepting D'Arnaud and a low-minors high upside guy like Roberto Osuna or Noah Syndergaard. I can even fathom throwing Rasmus in the deal and living with Gose's rawness for now while dreaming on the bat getting there. It would be tough to see both those kids in the deal without getting another upgrade (Ike Davis or Daniel Murphy being the most obvious fits). But whatever, YOLO and Flags Fly Forever and whatever such nonsense we tell ourselves to get over the prospect porn addiction.

[gunnar hendershow]

I think the Jays are good, and they're real close to being a legitimate contender, but this trade strikes me as a classic "team thought they were closer than they actually were" deal. It could be a trade we look back on in 3-4 years and go, "If Toronto still had D'Arnaud they would be unstoppable."

[The Buscher]

What baffles me is that some writers are saying the Jays won't part with anything more than d'Arnaud in any scenario and they'd still want another prospect back from the Mets to "balance the deal"

So a proven Cy Young Award winner, 2 extra years on his deal, and a decent unproven prospect for a high-level but ultimately unproven prospect. It doesn't seem to make sense to me why the Mets would be the ones giving up more in the deal if Dickey agrees to the extra 2 years. Don't even say age...knuckleballers have a totally different age curve and the fact is the Mets are still getting an unproven prospect in return. d'Arnaud has been injured several times and is certainly a risk.

At this point I just want this to be finalized. I'm refreshing MetsBlog every 5 minutes seemingly.

[Ananas]

It's not 2 extra years, it's one year. Whether the Jays extend him immediately is immaterial, the Mets are trading one year of control. Travis D'Arnaud is an unproven prospect sure, he's also essentially major league ready as soon as they're confident he's completely healthy (and none of his injuries are in any way related). If you're doing probabilities, the likelihood of Travis D'Arnaud producing less value over the next 6 seasons than Dickey over the one year of control the Mets are giving up is fairly low. It's the kind of overpay that teams who think they have a chance to win a pennant can make (and the Jays would seemingly appear to consider themselves one of those teams), and I would agree that D'Arnaud for Dickey straight up is acceptable of you believe the Jays chances to be that good, but D'Arnaud for Dickey would be a very good return for the Mets.

[The Buscher]

So apparently it's now:

Blue Jays get:

RHP R.A. Dickey

C Josh Thole

OF Lucas Duda

Mets get:

C Travis d'Arnaud

C John Buck

RHP Noah Syndergaard

RHP Aaron Sanchez

-edit-

Now everybody's backing off of Sanchez being the 4th guy. Not surprising, cause that would have been a ridiculous haul for the Mets. But this rumor-based journalism on Twitter is pissing me off.

[Ananas]

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star reporting that the Blue Jays and R.A. Dickey have agreed to an extension, and pending a physical the final deal should be unveiled reasonably soon. The deal being reported is D'Arnaud, Syndergaard, Buck and a non-major prospect for Dickey, Thole and a non-major prospect. The Mets did well if true.

[Ananas]

The "prospects" in the deal are Nickeas from the Mets ("prospect") and Wuilmer Becerra (17 year old IFA signing from Venezuela, intriguing but a lottery ticket at this point). Dickey's deal is reported to be the 2/25 he was asking the Mets for, and there is an option for a 4th at 12m although we don't know at this point whether it's a player or team option (and I don't believe AA has ever given a player option so I would lean towards team). You look at the sum total of the deal and I'd say Mets "win" if it's about future value, it's an overpay if you include a major league ready prospect, a High-A high upside starter in Syndergaard and an interesting toolsy 17 year old OF in Becerra. But short term it's totally justifiable for the Blue Jays. You've just bumped Ricky Romero, a top 5 draft pick and 2011 All-Star, to the 5 spot in your rotation. You've got a rotation where 4 guys have been All-Stars and the only one who hasn't (Morrow) may end up being the best of the bunch. It's rotational depth, coupled with a balanced line-up that makes the Jays one of if not the on-paper favourites in the AL East. If only we played those pesky games on paper.

[naiwf]

I hope Dickey does well in Toronto. The Mets are essentially running this team like we play in Tampa, but at least the AL East and the Battle of Los Angeles will be worthwhile things to watch next season.

[livid]

I hope Dickey does well in Toronto. The Mets are essentially running this team like we play in Tampa, but at least the AL East and the Battle of Los Angeles will be worthwhile things to watch next season.

Well running it like you play in New York wasn't exactly working too well either.

[The Buscher]

The move had to be done. Getting 2 top prospects for a guy who is almost 40 is too tough to pass up given the Mets' current situation. I see d'Arnaud starting off in Triple A and then coming up together with Wheeler early in the season (calling them up within the first 3 weeks of the season causes them to lose an entire year of team control).

The Mets' only real chance at success in 2013 is if they have some A's-esque magic. However, I think they can make a legit Wild Card run in 2014. Harvey, Niese, and Wheeler with d'Arnaud catching and some other promising position players. Their infield is solid. The outfield is still a huge question mark...that being said I'd be okay with just letting Captain Kirk and Duda play this year. I love Kirk's glove and I think Duda can be a legitimate power bat. Just need to get a right-handed outfielder to plug in for 2013.

[Ananas]

Bodog has the Jays over/under for wins at 92.5 in 2013. I might just lay down some money on the under to guarantee myself a silver lining one way or another in early October.