R.A. to Rogers: Mets Trade Dickey to the Blue Jays

In a confounding offseason that has seen huge trades and even bigger contracts, the New York Mets have surprisingly made two of the best moves. They inked franchise third baseman David Wright to an eight-year extension, stopping him from taking the Jose Reyes route and bolting from Citi Field for greener pastures. The Mets have completed a second smart move, sending 2012 NL Cy Young R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays. Here are the trade parameters:

Blue Jays receive: RHP R.A. Dickey, C Mike Nickeas and C Josh Thole.
Mets receive:        C Travis d'Arnaud, C John Buck, RHP Noah Syndergaard, OF Wuilmer Becerra, and cash.

New York's future: C Travis d'Arnaud

At first glance, it is not really clear-cut who won this trade, as both teams fill their needs. However, the Mets will end up winning this deal because the pieces they received fit perfectly into their future plans. Even with Dickey, New York would not have contended in 2013. Not only does their division, the NL East, boast three legitimate contenders in Washington, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, but they also do not feature a roster filled with impact players. Offense is this team's true weakness, and their pitching is not exactly impressive, either. Simply put, in 2012, they were 25th in MLB in runs scored and 19th in runs allowed. Trading Dickey became a mandate for the Mets after they found themselves unable to come to terms on an extension for the knuckleballer, and they received quite a haul in return. Travis d'Arnaud is the undisputed centerpiece of the deal and provides the Mets with a future middle-of-the-order threat to pair with Wright. While he comes with durability concerns, The catcher is a top-20 prospect, an above average hitter and a project-able, above average defender. The dual threat d'Arnaud brings to the table is what makes him unique; there are not many MLB catchers who can hit in the middle of a lineup and defend the position adequately.

RHP Noah Syndergaard

John Buck is probably the only player the Mets will receive in this deal that will break camp on the Major League roster. However, Syndergaard is the player who could make this deal an absolute steal for the Mets. The right-hander is a classic big-body pitcher with a 6"5, 200-pound frame. He spent 2012 at the Class A level for the Jays, so he is roughly two or three years away from impacting the Major League team. Syndergaard features two Major League pitches in his fastball, and changeup, and potentially plus pitcher in his curveball and slider. He could easily become a classic power pitcher for New York, and would be a great addition to a future rotation that will star fellow righties Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. The great part about this trade for New York is that d'Arnaud and Syndergaard fit very well with what they already have in place. Their current roster features a semi-large group of players that project to become complimentary parts to a successful team. Shortstop Ruben Tejada and first baseman Ike Davis can both become good-to-very-good players for New York. The Mets also posses numerous back-of-the-rotation, controllable starters like Jon Niese, Jenrry Mejia, and Dillon Gee. The Dickey trade provides the Mets with the star power they will need to fuel this core to a playoff return.

R.A. Dickey, 2012 NL Cy Young

While the Mets certainly garnered a sizable return for Dickey, keep in mind that they did give up an ace who just won a Cy Young. The sticking point for New York, however, was the distance between the two parties on a contract extension. New York offered Dickey $20 million over two years, a $10 million AAS that would be an absolute underpay and mistreatment for a reigning Cy. Dickey reached a two-year, $25 million extension with the Jays, a much fairer deal (that is still a huge steal), but one that the Mets were not willing to hand out. As a result, the Blue Jays will receive the perfect finishing touch to a completely revamped team. Dickey allows the Jays to move J.A. Happ, a marginal starter at best, to the bullpen, where he might be a slightly valuable lefty piece. A rotation consisting of Dickey, righties Josh Johnson and Brandon Morrow, and lefties Ricky Romero and Mark Buerhle should inspire terror in any other member of the AL East. While they did give up their catcher of the future in d'Arnaud and a future rotation member in Syndergaard, the Jays stuck to their win-now philosophy and acquired another piece that will power them back to the playoffs.

Looking at this deal purely for 2013, the Jays are the obvious winners, adding a durable ace to a rotation that features various starters with injury concerns. They held on to incumbent starting catcher J.P. Arencibia, who is no d'Arnaud but can hold down the position for 2013 just fine. They also swapped the useless Buck for Thole, who has a lot of experience catching Dickey's unique knuckleball already. The interesting part of Dickey's time with the Blue Jays, though, will be how he ages. Knuckleballers, because they exert less physical effort in throwing their signature pitch, are usually late-bloomers, age well, and can sometimes pitch into their mid-forties. Successful examples of this course are Charlie Hough, Phil Niekro, and, more recently, Tim Wakefield. However, Dickey throws his knuckler harder than any of those guys, and knuckleballers in general are an unpredictable bunch. Just like many of the Blue Jays' new additions this offseason, Dickey will most likely be a huge help in 2013, but his contributions beyond that will remain to be seen.