Trade Official: Dickey, Thole, & Nickeas Are Off To Toronto

Official press release from the Mets:

FLUSHING, N.Y., December 17, 2012 – 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 11^th-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 (38^th 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.

Mets Morning News: Mets Lose Expert Witnesses, Seven Commit To Buying$20 Million Shares, Nickeas Working On Offense

According to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who is presiding over the $386 million clawback lawsuit against Mets, will decide whether or not to toss the case on March 5.

Jed S. Rakoff, a United State District Court judge, heard more than two hours of oral arguments by both sides before deferring his decision. His only ruling was to toss out the trustee’s two expert witnesses and the one offered by the Mets’ owners, John Maine, who has the same name as a former pitcher for the team.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin on March 19.

The Mets now have a commitment from seven investors to become limited partners in the team.  Among the seven is Steve Cohen, who is also trying to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers.

New York owes $25 million to Major League Baseball, a loan whose repayment was extended from November until March, and $40 million to Bank of America. The team chose to sell limited partnerships following the collapse of a deal last summer with hedge fund manager David Einhorn.

Andrew Keh of the New York Times sat down with Mike Nickeas. Nickeas understands that if he wants to back up Josh Thole behind the plate, he's going to need to hit.

"My offense is something I worked tremendously hard on in the off-season," he [Nickeas]said. "We’re going after it. I’m all in. I know I need to get it done now."

"I’m removing all the inefficiencies from my swing, so I have more time to recognize pitches and see the ball," Nickeas said. "My goal is to be an extremely tough out. I don’t want to be the guy they get to, put a couple of pitches in, and be done."