Atlanta Braves: Could Keep R.A. Dickey Another Season

The Atlanta Braves have an interesting decision to make this off-season as to whether or not to keep R.A. Dickey next season. With a team option and the knuckle-baller being the Braves’ most consistent starter the move would make sense.

The Atlanta Braves added three veteran starters to the team last off-season. Bartolo Colon, Jaime Garcia, and R.A. Dickey were all added to the rotation. Since then both Colon and Garcia have been traded and Dickey has been rumored to be on the move as well.

Recent rumors suggest that the Braves may not trade Dickey after all and may even look to add Dickey back to the team last season. Dickey’s contract has an $8.0 million dollar team option with a team buyout at $500K. It will be a decision of $7.5 million dollars for a starter that if over forty-years old.

The fact that the Braves are rumored to be keeping R.A. shows how bad they have been in their rotation. It also points out the fact that many of the young pitchers are not living up to expectations. If the Braves opt to keep Dickey it could be a mistake considering his age.

The Braves are going to have to target and add a lot of quality pitching if they are wanting to take the next step in their rebuild. Adding Dickey should only be an option if the Braves are going to spend freely in free-agency.

Spending to exercise Dickey’s option would only be beneficial if money is going to be spent freely in free-agency and it would put Dickey as the 4th or 5th option in the rotation. Otherwise the Braves should opt to focus on adding one quality starter and hope that their young arms take a step forward.

Next: Braves Off-season Targets

This off-season should be an interesting one, one that will be full of decisions as to whether or not the Braves will compete next season.