For the past few weeks, the main story surrounding the Mets has to do with what will happen to R.A. Dickey. The reigning NL Cy Young award winner is looking for a two-year extension for $26 million, while the Mets only want to pay him $20 million. That pretty substantial gap has led many to speculate that the Mets will end up letting Dickey go for the right price. Could that right price now come from the Angels?

As baseball fans first heard on Wednesday, Fantasy Baseball favorite Josh Hamilton is officially a member of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. While he was the best position player still on the market, he does not really address the Angels’ main problem: starting pitching. However, what this signing does is possibly open up some trade avenues for them to consider going down with the Mets. It also leaves the Texas Rangers with the need to make some type of substantial move to keep pace with their AL West rivals.

Dickey has been rumored to go to both teams, but the trade options seem more clear now with these two clubs. The Mets are high on Mike Olt from the Rangers, so any deal with them would probably involve the third baseman/outfielder. For the Angels, they now have guys like Peter Bourjos and Mark Trumbo who could get lost in the shuffle. Bourjos is a solid defender who could be part of a deal, and Trumbo along with catching prospect Hank Conger could be solid pieces for the Mets to build with.

Each day that passes with Dickey and the Mets not coming to an agreement makes most experts believe they will in fact trade him. Both the Rangers and Angels have the pieces to make the trade happen, and both would love to make a deal to get an edge over the other. From the Mets perspective, they can use that as leverage to get the best possible young players package they can. With few expecting the Mets to truly compete in 2013, this seems like the best possible option since Dickey seems completely against coming down to the offer they have extended to him.