Blue Jays Starters vs Trade Targets: Is There Even a Need?

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May 26, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey (43) prior to the start of a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Dickey vs The Big Fish

The knuckleballer was supposed to be the final pick up that brought the World Series trophy to Toronto. It hasn’t done that. During his time in Toronto, R.A. Dickey has provided a lot of innings and a lot of frustration. His 31-34 record since joining the Blue Jays is not exactly the Cy Young performance fans hoped for. The feeling in Blue Jays Land is that Dickey is not a #1 starter anymore, if he ever was one. For that reason, bringing in one of the “Big Fish” would be an upgrade. But, how much?

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At first glance, you can see that Dickey’s numbers are  nowhere as good as the list of potential trade targets. This will come as no surprise. What might, though, is just how much less effective or valuable Dickey has been. To this point in the season, Dickey has put up a ZERO WAR. He’s playing replacement level baseball. He wasn’t brought in to be replacement level.

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Add to that the fact that in 2015, he’s adding -1.25 win probability and you see why this club needs an upgrade over him. Having Dickey start looks to be taking away the likelihood of winning. Is that how a team pushing for the payoffs wants to proceed? Do they really want to put their eggs in this basket?

Dickey has seen a slight decrease in his K% (from 18.9% to 14.4%) this season, while his BB% has risen from 8.1% to 9.1%. And, hitters are hitting better against him (.247) than they have since 2011. As for the aforementioned “Big Fish”, only Samardzija has an ERA even close to Dickey, but the Shark has been worth 1.7 WAR.

So, it would be difficult to imagine that the Toronto Blue Jays would be comfortable with sticking with R.A. Dickey over these potential trade targets.

Next: Buehrle vs The Big Fish