December 17, 2012

Rumor Roundup

Monday, December 17

by Daniel Rathman

Sometimes, trades take days to pull together. Just ask Alex Anthopoulos and Sandy Alderson, who needed the entire weekend to hammer out the terms for a deal that will send R.A. Dickey to Toronto, pending a contract extension. Today’s Roundup includes a recap of that saga and some free-agent buzz surrounding two other American League East teams.

Negotiations in progress between Blue Jays, Dickey
According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, as of early Sunday afternoon, the Jays and Mets had an “agreement in principle,” which set the wheels in motion for Anthopoulos and Dickey’s agent, Bo McKinnis, to work out a mutually acceptable pact to keep the knuckleballer in Toronto beyond the 2013 season. The extension is critical to the trade, because Anthopoulos is unlikely to surrender his top two prospects—catcher Travis d’Arnaud and right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who are both believed to be in the agreed-upon swap—for one year of Dickey, even at a bargain cost of $5 million. Mike Puma, a beat writer for the New York Post, was the first to report the seven-player framework, which also includes major-league catchers Josh Thole and John Buck, as well as two unidentified prospects.

Puma’s colleague, Joel Sherman, heard on Friday that Dickey was opposed to an extension with the Blue Jays, and noted on Saturday that his reluctance to commit to one could ultimately become a deal-breaker. But Dickey, drawn by Anthopoulos’ win-now mentality and perhaps by the flight schedule between Toronto and his home in Nashville, has apparently relented, assuming that the years and dollars will match.

The specifics of Dickey’s asking price to seal the deal have not yet leaked, and reports from last week—when the Mets seemed to make progress toward keeping the 38-year-old in Queens—may not be an accurate guide. Andy Martino of the New York Daily News suggested that the gap between New York’s offer and Dickey’s demand was about $6 million, with the team suggesting a two-year, $20 million tack-on to his existing $5 million paycheck for 2013 and McKinnis seeking $26 million for the 2014-2015 seasons. However, that asking price accounted for Dickey’s minimal leverage, given his existing commitment to the Mets, and may have even included a discount to reward the chance that they took on him three years ago. ESPN’s Buster Olney spoke with a veteran agent on Sunday, and was told that Dickey could reasonably expect $40-45 million over three additional years from the Jays.

More details about the extension or the trade could emerge later today. For more on the lead-up to the trade, the second this offseason in which a top prospect (or two) has been put on the block for a frontline starting pitcher, check out today’s edition of Effectively Wild.

Update 11:52 a.m. ET: Richard Griffin of The Toronto Star, reports that Dickey has agreed to an extension with the Blue Jays. The terms should be available shortly.

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