Benjamin Grimm

I suspect that they'll sign Hairston or Ross, and put whichever one in the outfield with Nieuwenhuis and Duda, who get 2013 to show whether or not they're worth considering as part of the future.

Oops -- I missed it. They're all "pounders".

E-mail from the Mets wrote: METS ACQUIRE TRAVIS D'ARNAUD, JOHN BUCK, NOAH SYNDERGAARD AND WUILMER BECERRA FROM TORONTO FOR R.A. DICKEY, JOSH THOLE AND MIKE NICKEAS The New York Mets today announced that they acquired catchers Travis d'Arnaud and John Buck, righthanded pitcher Noah Syndergaard and outfielder Wuilmer Becerra from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for righthanded pitcher R.A. Dickey and catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas. TRAVIS D'ARNAUD (pronounced "DAR-no") The 23-year-old d'Arnaud was ranked by MLB.com as the 11th-best prospect in all of baseball and the best catching prospect this past September. The righthanded hitter batted .333 (93-279) with 45 runs scored, 21 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 52 RBI with a .380 on-base percentage in 67 games with Toronto's Triple-A affiliate, Las Vegas (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League, last season. The Long Beach, Calif. native missed the final two months of the season after suffering a tear to the posterior cruciate ligament of his left knee which did not require surgery. He was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player in 2011 after hitting .311 (132-424) with 72 runs scored, 33 doubles, 21 home runs and 78 RBI with a .371 on-base percentage with New Hampshire (AA). D'Arnaud also led the EL with a .542 slugging percentage and was named the league's best defensive catcher by EL managers. A former first-round compensation selection by Philadelphia in 2007, d'Arnaud was acquired by the Blue Jays in the trade that sent Roy Halladay to the Phillies in December, 2009. The 6-2, 195-pounder has hit .286 (523-1,828) with 133 doubles, 66 home runs, 289 RBI with a .343 on-base percentage and a .474 slugging percentage in six minor league seasons. D'Arnaud has been named to four minor league All-Star teams during that span and twice played in MLB's Futures Game. His older brother Chase is an infielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates. JOHN BUCK Buck, 32, has 48 home runs over the last three years (2010-2012), the third-most in the majors as a catcher behind Brian McCann (63) and Matt Wieters (53). The 6-2, 230-pounder also has 160 RBI while playing behind the plate, ranking sixth in the majors during that span. Buck was an All-Star in 2010 when he hit 20 home runs and drove in 66 runs for the Blue Jays. The Kemmerer, Wyo. native batted .192 (66-343) with 15 doubles, 12 home runs and 41 RBI in 106 games for the Miami Marlins last year. Buck has hit .235 (737-3,131) with 159 doubles, 118 home runs and 423 RBI during his nine-year career with the Royals, Blue Jays and Marlins. NOAH SYNDERGAARD (pronounced "Sin-Der-Guard") Syndergaard, 20, went 8-5 with a 2.60 ERA (30 earned runs/103.2 innings) and finished third in the Midwest League with 122 strikeouts in 27 games, 19 starts, for Lansing (A) in 2012. The 6-5, 200-pounder issued 31 walks and allowed three home runs while holding opponents to a .212 batting average. The Mansfield, Tex. native ended 2012 as the third-best prospect in the Blue Jays organization according to MLB.com. Syndergaard was Toronto's first round selection (38th overall) in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Syndergaard is 13-8 with a 2.35 ERA (46 earned runs/176.0 innings) and 196 strikeouts in 45 games, 35 starts in three minor league seasons. WUILMER BECERRA (pronounced "Wilmer Ba-Ser-ah") Becerra, 18, hit .250 (8-32) with four doubles and four RBI in 11 games with the rookie-level Gulf Coast Blue Jays last year. The 6-4, 190-pounder is the son of former St. Louis Cardinals scout and Venezuelan star Wilmer Becerra. Looks like Buck will sneak in ahead of Brandon Nimmo to become the first Mets player born in Wyoming. And d'Arnaud (the only player above not referred to as a "pounder") is now in a race with Matt den Dekker to be the first Met with a name that starts with a lower-case letter.

From December 22, 2009, almost exactly three years ago: RA Dickey close to deal with Mets. soon to be Memories of ?

The fifth starter is a big question at this point, but the first four would be Santana, Niese, Harvey, and Gee. Terry had said a few weeks ago that Wheeler would be in the mix for the fifth slot if there was an opening in the spring. Other options would be Heffner or Mejia, I suppose.

So it seems that all that remains is the physical. As long as Dickey has recovered well from his abdominal muscle repair, and assuming that they don't discover any additional missing body parts, we have a done deal. Announcement may come as early as this evening.

Edgy MD wrote: I like groupie chick. Yeah. "Fugly" is unnecessarily harsh.

Ceetar wrote: And that doesn't change that this process is NOT marketable or exciting for 2013 as currently constituted. I don't see why I should care a whole lot how "marketable" the Mets are. I think that this deal, if it happens, is likely to provide the Mets with more wins over the next decade than if it doesn't happen. Maybe not more wins in 2013, but more over the long haul. Yes, 2013 is important, but we're going to stop caring about 2013 by October 31 at the latest, and probably quite a bit before then. As we've seen, most catchers today are awful. The Mets have a rare chance to get a guy who may* be the best catcher in the league a few years from now, giving them a competitive advantage over everyone else. This is a very smart deal, and I'm glad we have a guy in place who was able to swing it. *I'm anticipating the response that there's no guarantee that Travis will become a star. It's silly that I have to even type this paragraph; of course that statement is true, but there's certainly no guarantee that standing pat would end up being a good idea either.

I would certainly be disappointed if it fell through.

In case you missed it: It would be Dickey, Thole, and a non-elite prospect to the Blue Jays for Elite Prospects Travis d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard, catcher John Buck, and one non-elite prospect. Deal is contingent upon Dickey negotiating a contract extension with Toronto.

It's being reported that the deadline is 2 p.m. Tuesday, which is just about 48 hours from now. I wonder if the clock starting ticking yesterday afternoon, but we're just hearing about it now?

Beltran was terrific, but retiring his number would be ridiculous.

Swan Swan H wrote: I don't necessarily disagree with the Jays perspective, obtaining Dickey and going for it in 2013, but if the parameters of the deal we keep hearing (Dickey for d'Arnaud and Gose) are true I think the Mets would be wrong to pass this up. I agree.

Edgy MD wrote: All signs point to #Mets trading Dickey. Little progress with extension, 1 yr./$5M looks more attractive by the day. #Rangers still in mix. Don't know what to make of that. Clarity is tough in the number of characters you get for a tweet, but if "all" signs point to a trade, how is the $5 million looking more attractive? To Dickey? To the Mets? To the Cardinals? Rosenthal elaborates: � Mets. All signs point to a trade of NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey. The Mets have made little progress in their attempt to sign Dickey to an extension, and the right-hander�s $5 million salary for next season looks more attractive by the day. The Rangers are among the clubs interested in Dickey, sources say, but the price remains high. The Mets are telling clubs that they have an acceptable trade offer for Dickey, but they are trying to get an even better package, one source says.

I think he would deserve it too, but the vibe I'm getting is that the Mets don't want to give him one.

I assume it means to the acquiring team.

Mike Puma, in the Post, says that Sandy says that this should all be resolved by the end of the week. Given that today is Thursday, it sounds like something may be about to happen. There may be fresh news on Mets Hot Stove tonight.

I never got close enough to him for him to rub me.

Torres was the Schaefer Mets Player of the Game four times in 2012: June 24, July 15, August 11, September 30. His best Schaefer day, however, was August 9, when he earned 3.32 points, second to R.A. Dickey's 5.07.

What's the deal on Mike Olt? He sounds like he's a good player (He's 24 and .288/.398/.579 with 28 homers in 95 games in the Texas League in 2012), but the Mets seem unenthusiastic and I also read that the Braves didn't want him. Is it because of questions about his ability to play the outfield? His lack of AAA experience? Or is it something else?

Doesn't tempt me either. I'd instead see if this makes the Rangers a bit more desperate.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Overall, played like a a guy who understood he was only going to be here until somebody better came around And that better player still hasn't arrived.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I hate to say it, but I'm getting a tremendous flop vibe on him. 70 games. .218. 3 homers. Gone before August 1. Well, I got the number of homers right. He hit .230 in 132 games. And he wasn't gone until after December 1.

NFU: Non-fuckups. Instances when a player has a chance to make a mistake... but doesn't!

How long (do we estimate) would it take for Wright to pass Seaver?