On a day when the Yankees acquired the Atlanta Braves’ ace, Javier Vazquez, to be their No. 4 starter, the Mets neared a deal with a converted knuckleballer who is missing a ligament in his right elbow.

The Mets are on the verge of signing R. A. Dickey, who spent last season in the Minnesota Twins’ organization, to a minor league contract, according to a baseball official with knowledge of their plans. He was granted anonymity because the deal has not been completed.

A first-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 1996, Dickey, 35, may be the only pitcher in professional baseball who does not have an ulnar collateral ligament, the tissue replaced during Tommy John surgery. He was born without one, or, unbeknownst to him, the ligament disintegrated as he grew up.

When the ligament’s absence was discovered after he was drafted during an examination by Texas’ team physician, Dickey defied doctors’ expectations by advancing steadily through the Rangers’ system and reaching the majors in 2001.