Catcher Mike Nickeas, who has played for the British national team in the past, was one of the players involved in the RA Dickey trade, which was finalized on Monday. This year’s National League Cy Young Award winner Dickey, Nickeas and fellow catcher Josh Thole will be send to the Toronto Blue Jays, while the New York Mets receive veteran catcher John Buck and prospects Travis D’Arnaud (C), Noah Syndergaard (RHP) and Wuilmer Becerra (OF). Nickeas has been a surprise addition to the trade, as his name didn’t come up in speculation in the past.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia the 29-year-old looks back at 73 games in Major League Baseball for the Mets in the past three years. Nickeas batted .180/.241/.238 during this time. His father is from England, his mother from the United States. He grew up in California. Attending Westlake High School and Georgia Tech University he played for Team USA on youth, junior and senior levels, just the second player to do so. With the US squad he won a silver medal at the 2003 Pan American Games. In 2007 he played for Great Britain at the European Championship in Barcelona, Spain, where he also won silver.
Being drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2004, Nickeas got traded to the New York Mets for outfielder Victor Diaz in August of 2006. He made his big league debut for New York on September 4 in 2010 against the Chicago Cubs. The Blue Jays assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo for now.
