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MLB notes: RA Dickey agrees to $8M deal with Braves

In this May 24, 2016, file photo, then-Toronto Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey delivers against the New York Yankees during the first inning of a baseball game in New York. Former NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey and the Atlanta Braves have agreed to a one-year contract, adding a 42-year-old knuckleballer to a thin rotation as the team moves into a new ballpark. Dickeys agreement, announced Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, is subject to a successful physical. (Julie Jacobson / Associated Press)
By Charles Odum Associated Press

ATLANTA – R.A. Dickey was won over by an Atlanta Braves sales team that included two Hall of Famers, including a fellow knuckleballer.

Dickey said he knew the Braves would be a good fit after meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, with a group that included manager Brian Snitker, general manager John Coppolella and two Hall of Famers – former manager Bobby Cox and knuckleballer Phil Niekro.

“I had a great feeling then there was great hope I would be able to join the organization,” Dickey said Thursday after agreeing to a one-year contract with an $8 million guarantee.

He considers Niekro to be part of the “Jedi council of knuckleballers” who influenced his career.

“Phil and I have a good relationship,” Dickey said. “I consider him a friend. We filmed a documentary together.”

He gets a $7.5 million salary next year, and the Braves have an $8 million option for 2018 with a $500,000 buyout. The deal for the 42-year-old right-hander, the first of the 157 free agents to switch teams this offseason, is subject to a successful physical, tentatively planned for late next week.

Dickey said he had the Braves near the top of a short list of prospective teams. He noted the short travel distance – “3 hours, 15 minutes from doorstep to doorstep” – from his home to Atlanta was a big factor.

“I’ve grown up a Braves fan and have always admired the organization,” Dickey said.

Dickey said having four children ages 14 and younger kept retirement an option if he did not find interest from the right team.

Dickey had a career-high 20 wins and won the NL Cy Young in 2012, his final season with the New York Mets. The right-hander spent the last four years with the Toronto Blue Jays, going 10-15 with a 4.46 ERA this year.

Dickey said the velocities on his knuckleball “were as high as they’ve ever been” and he expects to pitch 200 innings in 2017.

No one had double-figure wins for Atlanta this year, prompting Coppolella to say he will pursue at least two established starters on the free-agent market. Julio Teheran heads a rotation projected to include Josh Collmenter.

Dickey is 110-108 with a 4.01 ERA in his career. He logged at least 200 innings five straight seasons from 2011 to 2015. Since 2010, his 1,441 innings rank ninth in the majors. He said it was a challenge to pitch in the AL East’s small parks and said the rebuilding Braves’ potential in their new SunTrust Park in suburban Atlanta was a selling point.

St. Louis’ Matt Holliday becomes final free agent

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Outfielder Matt Holliday became the final free agent, formally leaving the St. Louis Cardinals when he and the team agreed to waive a provision in his contract that would have guaranteed his 2017 salary if he finishes among the top 10 in NL MVP voting.

The 36-year-old certainly will not finish among the top 10 when voting is announced Nov. 17, so the move makes him a free agent one week earlier. He hit .246 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs in 110 games, missing substantial time after his left thumb was broken when he was hit by a pitch on Aug. 11.

He was brought into the Cardinals’ season finale to play left field in the ninth inning. He was given a standing ovation and taken out before the next pitch. On the start of the season’s last weekend, the Cardinals said they planned to decline his $17 million option for 2017.

Holliday, who still gets a $2 million buyout, became a free agent Thursday, three days after the other 157 eligible players went free. He was held up because of the vesting provision. A seven-time All-Star, Holliday was drafted by Colorado in 1998, traded to Oakland after the 2008 season and then dealt to St. Louis the following July.

Indians right-hander Cody Anderson has elbow surgery

CLEVELAND – Cleveland Indians right-hander Cody Anderson had elbow surgery and will need two months to recover.

Anderson, who went 2-5 with a 6.68 ERA in nine starts this season, was bothered by pain in his elbow late in the year. The team said he was diagnosed with impingement in the back of the elbow joint.

The 26-year-old underwent an arthroscopic procedure in Dallas on Wednesday. The team said Anderson will begin a throwing program in two months and is expected to be ready for the start of the 2017 regular season.

Coming off an impressive rookie season, Anderson won a spot in Cleveland’s starting rotation in spring training, but struggled in April and May. He spent most the season bouncing back and forth between the Indians and Triple-A Columbus. Anderson had seven stints with Cleveland.

Anderson was used exclusively as a reliever in the second half by manager Terry Francona.