Dickey Trade Now a 7-Player Swap?

Yesterday, a trade between the New York Mets and the Toronto Blue Jay sending R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays for top catching prospect Travis D’Arnaud and another prospect seemed imminent. Now, what began as a simple ace-for-prospects deal has evolved into a possible seven player swap, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.

Puma reports that Mets catcher Josh Thole and a "non-elite" Mets prospect and now part of a potential deal, along with Blue Jays top pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard, veteran catcher John Buck and another non-elite prospect. Outfielder Anthony Gose is not a part of this package after being connected to the possible trade on and off over the past few days.

The 20 year old Syndergaard was selected by the Blue Jays in the first round of the 2010 draft. Last season he made 19 starts and threw 103 innings for Lansing of the Midwest League (A) with a 2.60 ERA. He struck out 122 batters and walked just 31 in that time as well. The 6’5 righty throws a mid-nineties fastball, a curve and a change at this point.

Thole began the 2012 season as the Mets primary catcher, but he suffered a concussion on May 7 when he was hit by Ty Wiggington during a play at the plate. He missed most of May following the injury and when he returned he was a far less productive player. Including him in this deal makes sense for Toronto, as he can serve as Dickey’s personal catcher (an important role with a knuckleball pitcher on the staff) and a return to his 2010-2011 batting numbers would also be an improvement on current backstop J.P. Arencibia.

The evolution of this deal is surprising, but at its core, this is still really about Dickey for D’Arnaud. Both teams are exploring other less substantial pieces now, but that swap is at the heart of both teams' motivation. As long as both sides remain comfortable with that part of the deal, a trade will likely take place soon.