Mets Wanted Jackie Bradley And Xander Bogaerts For R.A. Dickey

The Red Sox need a starting pitcher. The Mets have a starting pitcher they can move now in R.A. Dickey, thanks in part to the presence of that PR-cushioning pillow that is the David Wright extension. Unsurprisingly, the two teams conversed about the hurler. It didn't go so well:

The Red Sox met with Mets to talk about possible trade for R.A. Dickey, according to a baseball source. Mets want Bogaerts and Bradley, Jr.

— Joe McDonald (@ESPNJoeyMac) December 3, 2012

It's not surprising that the Mets are asking for a whole lot in exchange for the National League's reigning Cy Young winner, but this had to be more than they knew the Red Sox would be willing to give up. (In fact, Joe McDonald says as much a few tweets later -- the Mets know that's too much for Boston, and also know neither side will budge.)

There are reasonable situations where one or the other would make sense in a trade for a pitcher of Dickey's caliber, especially since he would more than solve some rotation issues for the remaining season of his deal. That being said, he's only around for two more years, and those are arguably the top two prospects in the entire system. Asking for both is a non-starter.

It's a shame, too, as there is a reasonable deal for both sides to make here. Boston has lots of prospect depth, the Mets have holes to fill, and maybe most importantly, the Red Sox have plenty of catching they could send out, something New York is publicly in the market for. With Bogaerts and/or Bradley as the anchors of the deal, though, nothing is likely to happen on that front. Bogaerts has the highest ceiling of any Red Sox prospect since Hanley Ramirez, and Bradley is essentially already being fitted for his 2014 Red Sox uniform, since no one expects Jacoby Ellsbury to return after he hits free agency.