Friday November 23rd, 2012

Kyle Holland: R.A. Dickey had a career year and without a doubt the best year of his career in 2012. He went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA and capped off his amazing season with a CY Young Award, a first for a primarily knuckleball pitcher. But with his age, and his current value, should the New York Mets try shopping Dickey?

Dickey is coming off the best season he may ever have so look at his value. The Mets could really cash in on this. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want a CY Young winner pitching on their team?

Dickey doesn’t have many years left as he just turned 38 in late October. The Mets are going to need at least 3 years to become real contenders again so Dickey is going to do them no good. Having Dickey on their team would be a waste as they can definitely trade him for some prospects that they can rebuild around.

A prime reason they should be shopping Dickey is simple. Zack Wheeler. Wheeler is a starting pitcher in the Mets organization, ranked in the top 10 in the top 100 prospects. So if they get rid of Dickey, they have an upcoming starter that can take his place and get some prospects.  You still have a rotation of Johan Santana, Jon Niese, possibly Dillon Gee (if he comes back from his injury) or another free agent and Matt Harvey to round out the 5 man crew.

Wheeler throws a four-seem fastball, a two-seem fastball, a curveball, changeup, and slider. The fastball runs anywhere from 95-97 consistently and is considered a plus pitch. His 72-78 MPH curve is the best rated in the Mets organization by Baseball America and is also a plus pitch. His changeup is thought to be below average and his developing slider has the potential to be filthy in the future. If the Mets aren’t willing to shop Dickey around it may stunt Wheelers promotion up to the big club.

Look at Dickey’s contract next. He’s only owed $5 million in 2013, which any team could afford. If they could give th.e Mets a few prospects then they would make out good, but the Mets may be looking for some more. The Mets are reportedly looking for a “monster deal” for Dickey, which they probably just won’t get. Even with the CY Young, how many teams will really be interested in Dickey? Given his age he may only have a few more years left in the tank. Although, knuckleballers do tend to have longer careers than normal pitchers. For example, Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox relied only on his knuckleball and pitched to be 45.

So who will the Mets be willing to trade Dickey for? Well they’re going to wait and see who jumps at the chance to land him. They already announced that, although they will listen to offers, however they are not going to search for teams to trade him too themselves. If a team does come along and make a offer to the Mets, they will  have to include either some Major League Players  or high-end  top 30 prospects talent back in return.

If the Mets want to start rebuilding, the best chance they have to expedite the process is to make sure Dickey will be wearing a different uniform on opening day of next year. If this does come to fruition, Wheeler will be a great replacement in the starting rotation.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

Welcome our newest Baseball Intern: Kyle Holland:

Kyle is a life long baseball fan outside of Boston. He is a sophomore in high school has played baseball since he was 5. Although growing up in one of the best baseball towns in the major leagues, he has been a Giants fan since 2009. He credits his aunt with the Giants being his favorite team as she lives in San Francisco. Some of his favorite players include Buster Posey, Stephen Drew, Trevor Bauer, Stephen Strasburg, and minor leaguer Danny Hultzen.  You can find Kyle on Twitter (@TheKHolland13)

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