Perhaps aside from the Los Angeles Angels winning the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes the Toronto Blue Jays have without a doubt made the biggest splash in the MLB offseason.
After raiding the Miami Marlins’ roster with the acquisitions of shortstop Jose Reyes and pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle the Jays made another significant move by trading for reigning N.L. Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey.
But not only did the Blue Jays pull off the trade with the New York Mets for Dickey, Toronto was able to extend the contract of the veteran knuckleballer to a two-year deal worth $30 million dollars including a club option for 2016.
Source: total guarantee of 3/30 for Dickey with $12 mil option for 2016.
— Andy Martino (@MartinoNYDN) December 17, 2012
In return the Mets will receive Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, John Buck and a prospect.
More notably though Dickey joins a rotation that already consist of Brandon Morrow, Ricky Romero and the aforementioned Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson. This of course is not mentioning J.A. Happ who will more than likely become the team’s sixth starter and work out of the bullpen.
And with these moves the Jays clearly have the mindset that the AL East can be theirs especially considering vulnerabilities of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees heading into 2013. The Jays though will still come face-to-face with some challenges within the division as the Tampa Bay Rays still have a formidable lineup and rotation even with losing James Shields as well as a Baltimore Orioles team looking to capitalize off of last season successes.
