LOS ANGELES _ R.A. Dickey knows how well the Braves have played for the past 2 { months and especially since mid-June despite a toughening schedule, and the veteran knuckleballer hopes they can avoid any potential disruptions and keep it going.
But Dickey also knows that fellow starting pitcher Jaime Garcia and others could be traded at any time between now and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Garcia, in particularly, seems likely to go since he's a pending free agent and the Braves already came close to trading him a few days ago to the Twins.
"I don't know, I keep on pretending that _ Jaime's been on the trade block for about a week now, three or four days, and I feel like every time (the Braves) win the trade didn't go through because they're pulling him back," Dickey said, smiling as he discussed the situation. "I understand the business of it. But he's a big part of what we're doing here.
"He offers a level of consistency that we need, a team that's going to try to compete for a wild card. So it would be tough to see him go, for sure."
If Garcia is traded before his next scheduled start Wednesday at Arizona, the Braves will have Aaron Blair ready again as an option, after having him throw just one inning Sunday for Triple-A Gwinnett in case he's needed. They flew Blair out to Los Angeles before Garcia's start Friday, so serious were trade discussions with the Twins that the Braves were ready to start Blair in place of the left-hander.
That deal fell through over reported medical issues with the pitching prospect the Braves were going to get from the Twins, and other teams have since become involved in trade discussions with the Braves for Garcia, who pitched seven strong innings and hit a career-first grand slam in Friday's Braves win that snapped an 11-game Dodgers winning streak.
Kris Medlen, the veteran making a comeback with the Braves, has made progress at Gwinnett and could be the most attractive in-house option to fill in long-term for Garcia if the Braves trade him and don't acquire another starter. Lucas Sims, who like Blair is on the 40-man roster, is another option, though not for Wednesday since he pitched Saturday (seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball with nine strikeouts in a Gwinnett win) and would be on short rest.
Earlier this season there was speculation Braves might also look trade Dickey before the July 31 deadline, but those rumors have faded and his strong performance during the Braves' recent run has fueled discussion of the Braves possibly exercising an $8 million option on his contract for 2018 rather than the $500,000 buyout.
Dickey is 5-3 with a 2.94 ERA in his past eight starts and the Braves have won eight of his past 12 starts entering Monday's series opener at Arizona, where he'll face Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke.
Does a 42-year-old knuckleballer on a one-year deal (plus option) worry about being traded? The Nashville native certainly doesn't want to be traded and would like to stay with the Braves this season and beyond.
"I think there are some challenges that are different from a conventional pitcher" for teams potentially trading for a knuckleballer, he said. "You've got to have a guy that can catch it, primarily. That would be the No. 1 thing. But outside of that, where's (the) park located? Would Colorado trade for me? Probably not, because that's not a good place for a knuckleball. So there's those kinds of things, too, that would automatically eliminate a few teams.
"But if you're pitching good _ you've seen what the pitch can do when it's right, and I feel like it's right now and it's been right. So, you never know."
