Dickey Goes Under the Knife; Fred Lewis Outrighted to Triple-A

The super knuckler, also known as R.A. Dickey, was scheduled to go under the knife yesterday to repair a torn abdominal muscle that he hurt in April during his second start of the season. What we didn’t know that Dickey was playing the entire year hurt. After his final start of 2012, a no decision against Miami, he revealed to reporters that he’d been playing with the injury virtually the entire year.

In my eyes, that makes his 20-6 record, 2.73 ERA, 230 strikeouts, and a career-high 233.2 innings pitched much more impressive than it already was. From the looks of it, the NL Cy Young is favored to be awarded to one of two players, either Dickey or Nationals starter and fellow 20-game winner, Gio Gonzalez. Using strictly the statistics, Dickey has to have the edge; Gio does have the advantage in wins (21) and opponent batting average (.206), but R.A. has him beat in ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, and WHIP. Plus, add in the fact that he throws the most unpredictable pitch in the history of the game, while only walking 54 hitters compared to Gio’s 76. Lastly, it must be considered that while Gonzalez had a great year, the Nationals put together the best record in baseball, when R.A. Dickey was able to be just as successful in the wins department with a far inferior team, finishing in fourth place in the NL East and under .500.

Oct. 2, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) throws against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Dickey reached out to fans on Twitter Wednesday night mentioning his surgery, saying that it “should be no big deal” and that he’s appreciated everyone’s kind thoughts and support as he prepared to go under the knife. The procedure took place in Philadelphia without any Mets team doctors present.

This time of the year before the World Series is finished marks a lot of minor roster moves that teams make to make room on their 40-man roster. As for the Mets, we’ve seen them remove a handful of players off the roster and either outright them to the minors, giving players the option to choose free agency if they clear waivers. The front office makes these moves to enable themselves to protect certain prospects from being taken by other organizations in the Rule 5 draft. Just this week, we talked about Justin Hampson opting to test the free agent market, and a few others will follow suit.

In addition to that, catcher Rob Johnson was removed from the 40-man roster and cleared waivers earlier this week, then decided he would rather be a free agent than go back to the minors with the Mets. In 2012, Johnson hit .250/.298/.288 in 17 games, hitting no home runs and driving in 4 runs. He ended the season on the DL with a hand injury. Yesterday, Fred Lewis was the latest to be outrighted to Triple-A. As a September call-up, Lewis played all three outfield positions for New York (18 games) and hit .150/.320/.150. Despite struggling in his 20 at-bats in the Majors, he had a successful season with Triple-A Buffalo, hitting .293 with 13 homers and 45 RBI. According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, once he clears waivers and is officially removed from the roster, Lewis will opt for free agency as well. Rubin said he hasn’t filled out the necessary paperwork, but plans on doing so soon.