Did Braves Fick Up?

The Braves signed free agent Robert Fick to a one-year, $1 M contract today. The Braves have not said where he'll play, but I would expect that he was signed to upgrade them at first (given that they are set in the outfield and his starting catcher days appear to be over).

He's cheap and not a bad player. He was 8% better than average last year with Detroit (by OPS according to Baseball-Reference.com). That's not great for a RF-1B-DH type, but apparently he's the best solution available. He'll probably hit 14 HRs, drive in 60 and bat .260 in Atlanta. The Braves could have pursued a better hitter in Greg Colbrunn, but probably didn't like his price tag (he signed for $3.6 M over two years with Seattle). They also could have done worse, like Tony Clark.

Overall, he won't hurt them especially after the dreck they've had at first over the last couple of years. He won't help much either. But apparently teams are more concerned about what they pay than what they get. And as a Phillies fan, I thank the Braves for continuing their subpar offseason.