R.A. Dickey has been traded from the New York Mets, joining a rare club of pitchers to change teams after winning a Cy Young Award.
The Mets and Toronto Blue Jays completed terms on the deal for Dickey, making him part of a now-potent starting pitching rotation for Toronto, the New York Times reported .
R.A. Dickey reportedly signed a two-year, 25 million deal with the Blue Jays. All that’s left is for Dickey to pass a physical before the trade is completed, ESPN reported .
The Mets will receive highly regarded prospect Travis d’Arnaud and Class A right-hander Noah Syndergaard from Toronto. They will also send Josh Thole to the Blue Jays.
Fans and sportswriters were split on which team came out ahead in the trade. The Mets gave up the Cy Young winner, the bright point on a crumbling team and the anchor of the rotation after Johan Santana’s injury. But Dickey is older, and the Blue Jays gave up one of their brightest prospects for the “win now” philosophy.
Toronto had already acquired newcomers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle from Miami as part of the team’s firesale after the 2012 season.
Dickey and the Mets had been in negotiations for an extension, but those talks broke down when the sides could not reach an agreement over the price tag of his new contract.
R.A. Dickey’s fantastic season was one of the best stories of the 2012 season. After bouncing around the league for years, Dickey was in AAA just two seasons ago. The 37-year-old pitcher developed a knuckleball as a bid to stay in the league, and within the past two season turned it into one of the most unhittable pitches in Major League Baseball. His sizzling 2012 season was highlighted by two consecutive one-hitters early in the year.
