Dickey Sees 'Progress' In Talks With Mets; Report Tells Different Story
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Let's play the old good news, bad news game.
First, the good: Mets starter R.A. Dickey said Wednesday there's "been some progress" in his extension talks with the Mets.
"We just really started talking about it and I'm hopeful," Dickey said at an event in Manhattan, according to the New York Daily News. "I love being a Met. I want to be a Met and hopefully we can work something out."
Dickey said general manager Sandy Alderson has "convinced" him that the team is "moving in the right direction." And like he told WFAN radio after his 20th win in September, Dickey is eager to be "part of that solution."
After posting a 2.73 ERA with 230 strikeouts this season, there's little doubt the 38-year-old, officially a finalist for the Cy Young Award, has earned a raise from his 2013 option-year salary of $5 million.
But how much exactly should the Mets offer an aging pitcher -- albeit a knuckleballer? And what is Dickey looking for?
That brings us to...
Bad news: At the general managers' meetings, the Mets are leaving an "impression" of a "substantial gap" between the team and Dickey's camp, according to the New York Post.
"The Mets are hesitant to pay a 38-year-old knuckleballer at the top of the market," Joel Sherman of the Post told WFAN on Thursday.
That's not all. The Mets "were intensifying efforts" to gauge the trade market for Dickey as a fallback option, the Post reported.
"I do get the feeling at these meetings, talking to executives from the Mets -- but also other teams -- they are asking, they are trying to come to full peace with, what could they get in return for R.A. Dickey?" Sherman said.
So it's sign the knuckleballer or ship him for chips -- or revisit the matter before July's trading deadline.
"Teams are still somewhat hesitant," said Sherman. "But I think (the Mets) are finding out there is a market for him."
What should the Mets do? What will they do?
Stay tuned.
What's your gut say? Sound off in the comments below!
