The New York Mets are thinking of keeping R.A. Dickey with them, but other options are not off the table.

Sandy Alderson spoke Thursday at Indian Wells, Calif., where Major League Baseball is holding its annual General Managers Meetings, and offered his thoughts on offering a contract extension to the 38-year-old lefty, as reported by ESPN New York.

"Well, we're tying to. We'd love to retain him. Now, you know, the situations are a little bit different [compared with David Wright]. The ages are a little bit different. So they're not identical situations. But we're still engaged there as well."

Could the Mets trade Dickey?

"I think it's way too early to tell and at this point, our focus -- almost exclusive focus -- has been to try to re-sign him at this point," Alderson said.

The Mets executive also pointed out that he prefers to wait until the GM Meetings are done so he can rejoin conversations with Dickey. He would prefer to dedicate himself to the situation instead of making it part of a long to-do list in California.

Dickey finished the 2012 season with good enough credentials for serious Cy Young Award consideration: a 20-6 record, with league-leading numbers in innings (233⅔), strikeouts (230) and starts (33). The Mets are expressing their wishes of keeping Dickey on the roster, but they're not closed to a trade, if the right opportunity comes along:

"Well, from my standpoint, I already assume he's going to win. It would be a little unusual to trade a Cy Young winner, but I can remember a time when we traded for the leading hitter in the National League at the time, so it happens," Alderson said.