Morning Mets Notes: John Buck Always Included in R.A. Dickey Deal

As John Buck continues to enjoy his quick start in a Mets uniform, there were some reports that recently surfaced, saying that the 32-year-old backstop was a late throw-in for the deal that sent R.A. Dickey north of the border. The reasoning behind including Buck was to shred some payroll for the Toronto Blue Jays, and even out the swap of money with his $6 million salary. However, assistant GM John Ricco said quite the opposite to Adam Rubin.

Ricco said that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos wanted Josh Thole included in the trade since he has experience catching Dickey’s knuckleball. With his inclusion, the Mets would need to go out and find a catcher that could play every day until Travis d’Arnaud is ready for the major leagues, and Buck was their first option.

Apr 6, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets catcher John Buck (44) hits a two-RBI double against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning of a game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

If you remember, toward the end of last season, there were rumors that New York and the Miami Marlins were in talks to swap Buck and Heath Bell for Jason Bay, and the backstop had been linked via trade rumors with the Amazins for quite some time. Considering their earlier connections with Buck, I believe this report more than the ones saying he was a throw-in. Whether he was a last second addition or not, he’s a valuable part of the Mets’ lineup right now, supplying some power for the right side and calling a great game behind the plate until d’Arnaud is ready for big leagues.

The Mets were hoping to beat the Philadelphia Phillies and Cliff Lee last night to secure their third straight series win to start the season, but Dillon Gee was not sharp, as Lee threw 8.2 dominant innings in a 8-3 loss for the Amazins. Gee only last three innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits, putting the Mets in a 7-0 hole. They tried to get rallies started throughout the rest of the game, but it’s hard to do that against a Cy Young-caliber pitcher. You can get your Rising Apple recap right here.

In case you were wondering how some of the Mets’ minor league affiliates did yesterday, Michael Lecolant has you covered. Josh Satin helped the Las Vegas 51s get past the Fresno Grizzles, while Binghamton lost a 2-1 pitcher’s duel against Erie. Sam Maxwell also gave us a recap of Monday night’s podcast with Matt Silverman, author of various Mets books, but talked about his most recent publication, Swinging ’73.

New York has their rubber game today against Philadelphia, as they send Jeremy Hefner to the mound to face Kyle Kendrick at 7:05 p.m. before getting an off-day in order to travel to Minnesota and face the Twins for the first time ever on the road.

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