Cleveland Indians to Sign Mark Reynolds; Some Progress Made on Dickey Extension

Despite only playing a total of three innings in the outfield in his six-year Major League career, the Mets were rumored to be interested in Mark Reynolds‘ services last week at the Winter Meetings. With Ike Davis and David Wright both manning the corner infield positions, New York was interested in pursuing the 29-year-old ballplayer to cover some real estate in the outfield of Citi. However, that won’t be happening, as the former Oriole has agreed to a one-year/$6 million deal with the Cleveland Indians.

It was an up-and-down season in 2012 for Reynolds, hitting .221/.335/.429 with 23 homers and 69 RBI. Starting out as an everyday player, he struggled through most of the year before finding his power stroke in August and September, jacking 15 homers en route to helping the O’s reach the playoffs for the first time since 1997. However, he ended the season on a low, going 0-for-his-last-1o in the regular season, followed by a 3-for-22 showing in six postseason games.

Oct 7, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman

(12) singles in the sixth inning of game one of the 2012 ALDS against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Although it was a creative idea, the Mets are better off not having Reynolds in their lineup. He would have been a nice right-handed power bat, but with virtually no outfield experience, it could have been a disaster defensively. Also, he’s led the league in strikeouts four of his six seasons in the league, including three straight 200-K seasons from 2008-2010. He’ll be taking over first base for Cleveland, and MLB Trade Rumors reports the Indians could go with the young Lonnie Chisenhall at the hot corner. They’re waiting to hear on a two-year/$18 million offer made to free agent Kevin Youkilis, but this move could be foreshadowing the former Red Sox is leaning toward the one-year/$12 million offer he’s received from the Yankees.

News broke about Jason Bay agreeing to a one-year deal with the Seattle Mariners last week, but the M’s have finalized the contract, officially giving the former Met a chance to bring his career back to life. If he makes the squad out of Spring Training, he will make $1 million in 2013, with incentives that could total another million. For a team that is desperate for some power, this is a good move to try and get a lot of bang for their buck…we’ll see how a fresh start plays out for Jason.

The Mets announced their promotional schedule for the months of April and May, with some of the highlights being Ron Darling bobble head day (April 21st), not to be outdone by John Franco bobble head day (May 25th). So far, the biggest day on the promotional schedule is Banner Day, which will be coming back after it was re-instituted last season, and is set for Sunday, May 26th.

As one could imagine, there’s more news and rumors regarding the R.A. Dickey situation, but there’s nothing new at the same time. Now that the Winter Meetings have come and gone, the two sides have begun talking again about a two-year contract extension on top of his $5 million option for 2013, and Andy Martino tweets there has been “modest progress,” whatever the heck that means at this point.

Now that Zack Greinke has agreed to a deal with the Dodgers, Texas can re-start their discussions with the Mets about the possibility of acquiring R.A. Dickey, as they’ve already laid some ground work, being willing to trade top prospect Mike Olt for him. There has been some chatter as to why the Mets would be interested in Olt, as he’s primarily a corner infielder. Michael Baron of MetsBlog said it best; if the front office didn’t think the 24-year-old could handle playing the outfield, they wouldn’t be kicking around the idea.

However, whereas a Dickey-for-Olt deal could be something the Rangers would entertain, the Mets have proposed a trade that not only includes Olt, but some other players as well, for Dickey. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post said Texas has yet to counter with an offer to New York, which could mean they’re not picking up what Sandy Alderson is putting down. It’s likely tough to justify sending a package of players, including one of your best offensive prospects (after trading away Michael Young), in exchange for a 38-year-old knuckleballer, but now that the Royals have traded away outfield prospect Wil Myers to Tampa Bay in exchange for James Shields, Wade Davis, and a player to be named later, there may be more urgency in Texas’ pursuit for a front-line starter. So, expect Alderson to use this deal to his advantage in his effort to get the best package possible for someone coming off a Cy Young season.

Due to the high price, I don’t think the Rangers will be taking the bait. As Dickey and the Mets continue negotiating an extension and if they eventually come to an agreement, we’ll probably hear some more rumors involving the Royals and Blue Jays first. I truly think Dickey will remain a Met and sign an extension, especially after seeing the inflated price of starting pitching this winter on the open market.