Mets made the right move with Dickey

Photo by Michael Baron

I've been saying all off-season that trading R.A. Dickey was an absolute must for the Mets, he's the player with the most value who isn't part of the long term plan.  That's not to say I don't appreciate him and what he's done, his story is an absolutely amazing one. The Mets are a rebuilding team and need to acquire as much young talent as possible.  At Dickey's age he can;t be considered part of the long term plan, even if he ends up lasting like Tim Wakefield that's just too unpredictable.  Couple that with the his value being as high as it is and in the Mets position you have to make a trade.  I would much rather deal Dickey then Jon Niese...

Now I was saying move Dickey with much lower expectation then what we actually received,  I thought clubs would be reluctant because of his age and the unpredictability of his success with the knuckleball to give up elite prospects.

When I saw what the Mets were receiving in return for Dickey I was excited for the future of this team and thought it was an amazing job by Alderson, who I've been killing of reading the market.  

I know that no prospect is guaranteed but when the quality is this good, there are more successes then misses, besides as I said before the Mets aren't in a position to hold onto a 38 y/o when he can net them two of the top prospects in the game.

The Mets now have a potential long term fixture in the catcher's position which has been a revolving door since Mike Piazza left.  Not only is Travis d'Arnaud considered an offensive catcher but he's also considered one of the top defensive catching prospects.  By most prospect lists he's either 1 or 2 with Seattle's Mike Zunino and he's ranked #11 on the overall prospect list.  

Just as I never expected Alderson to turn Beltran into Wheeler, I never expected Dickey to garner d'Arnaud let alone another top prospect.  

Not only did the Mets get d'Arnaud but they got the Jays top pitching prospect in Noah Syndergaard.  The Mets are suddenly stacked in top pitching prospects and in the years to come will have a formidable rotation or pieces to move for position players. For example, the Giants didn't think twice about giving up Wheeler for Beltran, because they are so stacked with pitching. 

When the jays re-acquired Buck it was said to be a move so that he could mentor d'Arnaud, the thought being the Jays would move Arencibia.  It makes sense for Buck to come in the package with Thole going to Toronto to catch Dickey.  I just wish Buck didn't cost so much, 6 M for the year.  Savings from Dickey I thought could be used for the outfield will be used on Buck. 

Maybe this is a punt on the 2013 season but at least it will be exciting to see young new top prospect develop right in front of our eyes.  I don't mean the mediocre bench players we've been seeing but like the years when Wright and Reyes were first blossoming...