R.A. Dickey important to Blue Jays’ plans in 2016: Griffin

KANSAS CITY—It seemed typical of the final day of any season, only this was more painful and later in October than usual for the Blue Jays.

Players worked the room, going locker to locker to hug teammates, saying goodbye for the off-season. Other Jays sat around tables in the middle of the clubhouse nursing a beer, talking quietly amongst themselves, oblivious to the ebb and flow of bustling media all around them.

While all these activities unfolded following Friday’s elimination against the Kanas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, 40-year-old starting pitcher R.A. Dickey showered, dressed, spoke to the media, packed his bag and headed for the exit. It’s not that Dickey is unloved by his mates, he’s just different.

Dickey is a deep thinker, is well-read and articulate, doesn’t play video games, does not drink nor swear and is old enough to be a father to many of his teammates, and throws a knuckleball. Most of the season, you will see Dickey in the clubhouse by himself. Despite that, he has become one of the most important cogs for the Blue Jays looking forward to 2016, with his sublime $12 million (U.S.) contract on a club option. And Dickey’s ability to pitch 200-plus innings every year since 2011 makes him key for a rotation that will likely be without fellow workhorses Mark Buehrle and David Price.

No one has said anything officially about Price’s status, with free agency becoming a reality just a few days after the end of the World Series. But all signs point to a bidding war for Price’s services and a likely term of seven-years, which is standard today for top free-agent starting pitchers in their 30s. Unless new president Mark Shapiro changes club policy, the length of the contract, more than the dollar amount, will make the Jays long-shots to retain Price.

Price was asked about his impending free agency.

“This isn’t (anything) that crosses my mind,” Price said. “I don’t know when free agency starts. It’s not something I’ve thought about, . I haven’t thought about it all year long. If I’d have thought about that, I wouldn’t have thrown the baseball the way I have all year long. So I don’t think about that. I’m going to go hang out with my family and enjoy Nashville.”

Music City is also where Dickey is headed for the winter. He and Price are both Tennessee natives and share the same agent. The two men combined for a key Game 4 victory against the Texas Rangers in the ALDS, with Price earning the win in relief. But these two pitchers are so very different.

Jays fans love Price yet remain ambivalent toward Dickey. Now, forced to watch the World Series with New York Mets’ right-hander Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis d’Arnaud, both part of the trade for Dickey back in 2012, fan feelings of regret and resentment will become even stronger. But they better get over it, because the Jays need Dickey next season, and hopefully not in the role of an ace. Even though Dickey’s option year has not been formalized, he speaks of ‘we’ like he will continue to be a Blue Jay.

“We did a lot of great things, but I’m sure we’re not all satisfied,” he said. “I think it gives us great optimism for the future. I mean the whole team, minus maybe a couple of arms, are coming back. And we’re getting Devon Travis back. Hopefully we have the makings of another good run.”

Manager John Gibbons never has been a fan of the knuckleball, but as much as anyone in that clubhouse, he will use whoever to return to the post-season. That group includes Dickey, whose 2015 low point was his last start in Game 4 against the Royals. But by and large, it was all good.

“We gained a lot of experience, and that will help us,” Dickey said. “We had a great year, we really did. So many guys with incredible seasons in here. And the run that we gave the city, that we gave each other, was really special and we got to share that. It was a magical season in a lot of ways and it’s going to take a little bit of time (to heal) but I think that’s ’cause the wound is still fresh.”

It’s often difficult to read Dickey’s emotions, except maybe when Gibbons is on his way to the mound to take the ball when the pitcher feels it’s not time. So it’s interesting to hear the knuckleballer’s personal feelings.

“Nobody anticipated that we would end the year on 30 consecutive sellouts,” Dickey said. “That Game 5 against Texas, your kids’ kids will be seeing that on ESPN’s 30-for-30, whatever the show is. That was an incredible experience for everybody in here, for the city, the country. I don’t know if it surprised me as much as it was so fun. I don’t think I’ve ever had as much fun as a baseball player as I did the last two months and the first series-and-a-half of the post-season.”

Fans may still gnash their teeth over the trade that brought Dickey to the Jays following his breakout NL Cy Young win in 2012, but supporters — and Gibbons — had better learn to appreciate what they have in 2016.

Because Dickey is going to be important as a consistent 200-inning mid-rotation starter on a team whose ace is yet to be determined.

And winning teams need those guys.