RA Dickey

The Toronto Blue Jays' new front office is not resting on its laurels following the team's playoff appearance last season, with starting pitcher R.A. Dickey reportedly available in a trade. 

Jeff Blair of Sportsnet 590 The Fan reported that Dickey is "in play" for a possible deal if the Blue Jays find the right match. 

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R.A. Dickey struggled mightily with a 7.11 ERA in two postseason starts for the Toronto Blue Jays, but he apparently did enough during the last three seasons to convince his team to pick up the 2016 option on his contract.

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The Toronto Blue Jays made big news late last week, executing a blockbuster trade with the Oakland A’s, receiving Josh Donaldson in exchange for Brett Lawrie and three prospects.

The Toronto Blue Jays were thrown a bit of a knuckleball on Saturday evening.

Toronto starting pitcher R.A. Dickey left his start against the Baltimore Orioles after an apparent groin injury hampered the former Cy Young Award winner.

Scott MacArthur of TSN reported Dickey's injury:

In his first two starts as Toronto Blue Jays ace this season, R.A. Dickey has already shown how low and high things can go when a team's fortunes are riding on the most mercurial pitch in baseball—the knuckleball. 

His nadir came on Opening Day when the Tampa Bay Rays jumped on Dickey early, scored six runs off him and cruised to an easy 9-2 victory. 

R.A. Dickey has played the part of beguiling knuckleball artist to the tune of a Cy Young Award. However, if all goes according to plan, his entire life could just captivate a movie audience. 

Last year, R.A. Dickey was a walking, talking reminder of one of the coolest realities of baseball: Anyone can excel at it. Even knuckleballers in their late-30s who have spent the majority of their careers fending off irrelevancy.

Now here we are in 2013, and Dickey is a walking, talking reminder of one of the not-so-great realities of baseball: Glory in this sport can be fleeting. Dreams that come true can come untrue in a hurry.

The Toronto Blue Jays finally get their much-anticipated season rolling today against the Cleveland Indians. And with that, the scrutiny will begin on whether or not drastically revamping the roster will result in a playoff spot.

A number of players in the big leagues can wow fans with their performances on the field, but some of them also have incredibly interesting backstories about their road to the major leagues.

Many players have had to deal with personal issues or injuries and have persevered to reach the MLB. Movies have been made about players like this in the past, such as The Rookie, which was based on Jim Morris' career.

In Major League Baseball, veterans are always a key component to the success of a team, but there are some elder statesman who will have a major role for their respective clubs in 2013.

Guys like Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees and R.A. Dickey of the Toronto Blue Jays will each be of vital importance to their respective team's pitching staffs. Meanwhile, A.J. Pierzynski will have to make an impact on both sides of the ball for the Texas Rangers.