Major League Baseball

Mets may be close on offer to Dickey

Published Nov. 17, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

Ken Rosenthal

The New York Mets could be on the verge of a breakthrough in their negotiations with National League Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.

Or, maybe not.

The Mets plan to offer Dickey a two-year contract extension, according to major league sources. Whether Dickey would accept such a deal remains to be seen.

Dickey, 38, is under contract next season for $5 million. He likely would want at least $20 million for two years, but his exact wishes are not known.

The Mets have been talking with Dickey while also gauging his trade value with other clubs.

New York's general manager, Sandy Alderson, told reporters Friday that the team soon will need a resolution in its talks with both Dickey and third baseman David Wright.

Wright is under contract for $16 million next season, but the Mets are trying to sign him to an extension as well. The team recently made him an offer, and Wright’s agents made a counter-proposal, sources said.

“It’s still very early,” Alderson said. “But between Thanksgiving and the winter meetings (Dec. 3-6) — and (during) the winter meetings themselves — we need to have a little more clarity than we have now.”

Dickey’s response to the team’s proposal should provide some clarity.

But if the Mets want to keep Dickey, they can continue negotiating with him until Opening Day, the deadline that players and teams often use for contract talks.

The same timetable applies to Wright.

The other option for the Mets is to trade Dickey, a move that would be highly unpopular with their fans.

Dickey went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA for a fourth-place club last season, and on Wednesday became the first knuckle-ball pitcher to win a Cy Young Award.

His tale of personal and professional redemption has increased his appeal to many fans, and his season was not a one-year aberration. Dickey, in three seasons with the Mets, is 39-28 with a 2.95 ERA, averaging 205 innings per season.