R.A. Dickey is bringing his knuckleball back to the National League East.
The Atlanta Braves announced Thursday they've signed the former Cy Young Award winner to a one-year, $7.5-million contract. The deal includes an $8-million team option for 2018 that can be bought out for $500,000, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
"I've grown up a Braves fan and have always admired the organization," Dickey told reporters, according to Bowman. "So having the opportunity to play for the team that I grew up watching in Nashville when TBS was really the only channel we had is really an honor."
Atlanta, the NL's worst team in 2016, has been active in searching for starting pitching to boost a staff that posted the third-worst ERA in baseball at 4.87. Dickey's reputation as an innings-eater - he threw at least 210 innings in three of his four years with the Blue Jays, and surpassed the 200-inning mark each year from 2011-15 - could help ease the load on the Atlanta's crop of young starters.
"We're looking for innings," Braves general manager John Coppolella said. "We're looking for guys to suck up innings so that we don't have to kill our bullpen. We've been real transparent about what it is that we want to do: add guys that can eat innings on short-term deals. (Signing Dickey) fits exactly with the plan we have outlined, so we're thrilled to be able to get this done this early."
As for who will catch the knuckleballer in Atlanta - as tough a task as there is for a backstop - Coppolella told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Tyler Flowers is "eager" to work with Dickey. Josh Thole, who's still a free agent, has served as Dickey's personal catcher since 2010 when they were both with the New York Mets. He also caught all but 21 of Dickey's career appearances with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Dickey, one of the last knuckleball pitchers remaining in the majors, spent the last four seasons with the Blue Jays, who acquired him from the New York Mets following his 2012 Cy Young campaign. He posted a 4.46 ERA and struck out 126 batters across 169 2/3 innings with Toronto in 2016, but wasn't part of the postseason roster. He was a finalist for the AL Gold Glove, which he won in 2013.
Over four years with the Blue Jays, the 42-year-old posted a 4.05 ERA and averaged 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings, helping Toronto to consecutive playoff berths while boosting his reputation as a valued innings-eater.
Dickey's greatest success came as a member of the Mets, where he became the first knuckleballer to win the Cy Young Award as a 37-year-old in 2012, and became famous for his late-career redemption story.
Over 14 major-league seasons with the Blue Jays, Mets, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Minnesota Twins, Dickey owns a 4.01 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 1,341 strikeouts across 1,883 2/3 innings.