When you’re a Mets fan, the compliments are few and far between. But when baseball came up at the Thanksgiving table this year, my uncle turned to me and said, “Hey, congrats on Dickey! Cy Young, huh? He’s great.”

Not as great as your team’s 27 rings, I bet, but yeah, R.A. Dickey is pretty great.

“They’ll probably trade him now,” I joked.

When you’re a Mets fan, you joke about these things not because they’re particularly funny, but because it’s your way of coping with the dreary reality of your sports life.

Well, as of Sunday, the Mets had all but officially shipped R.A. to Toronto.

At least I can say I told you so.

But even though what has been one of the very few bright spots for the Mets is almost certainly gone, here’s why the Dickey trade isn’t the end of the world for the Amazins: The move fits right into Sandy Alderson’s long-term game plan.

And trust me, I know it feels like a very long term. Not only have the Mets not been relevant for years, it seems like they haven’t been any fun to watch for even longer.

But Dickey is 38, and even though age hardly matters with knuckleballers, it won’t make much of a difference if R.A. remains an ace for the next few years, because the Mets won’t be ready to win a championship for at least another season.

Alderson has had his eyes set on the future since he took over in New York, and he has been patiently working toward building a solid foundation for the years ahead.

Signing David Wright to an eight-year extension was a smart move in the right direction. The third baseman will be 30 next year, and a trade involving him would have hurt much more than the one involving Dickey, for a number of reasons.

As consistent as Dickey was in 2012, there’s just no predicting success with the knuckleball. Some days it’s there, some days it’s not. My guess is that it will be there for Dickey next year, even if it’s not to the extent that it was this past season, but depending on similar levels of production from the veteran next year would have been too risky for the Mets.

As of right now, all things point to New York getting the Blue Jays’ top prospect in the trade. The 23-year old Travis d’Arnaud could potentially fill a hole behind the plate that has existed since Mike Pizza left in 2005, if you don’t count Paul Lo Duca from 2006-07.

If the Mets get d’Arnaud and the catcher becomes a star for them, there will still be plenty of holes left to fill, most glaringly in the outfield. But the Dickey trade would be a step in the right direction. Even though it seems like the Mets have chosen the scenic route, at least they’re headed the right way.