Pitcher R.A. Dickey chooses Twins over Mariners

The newest baseball home for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey turns out to be an old one he never had the chance to move into.

It was just over a year ago that Dickey signed a free-agent deal with the Minnesota Twins, only to be selected soon after by the Mariners in the Rule 5 draft. Now, after the Mariners designated Dickey for assignment two weeks ago, he has decided to once again sign with the Twins.

"They seemed to be the team that had the most interest in me," Dickey said on Wednesday. "Not only that, they also seemed to have a real plan for how they want to use me. More than the other teams."

That "plan" involves using Dickey out of the bullpen, with the chance for some spot starts, if he makes the club out of spring training. His contract is a two-way deal, meaning one salary for the majors and another if he's in the minors.

The Twins "haven't promised anything" but Dickey was attracted by the way they pursued him. On the day he opted not to accept his reassignment to the minors, effectively becoming a free agent, he received a phone call from Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony.

"I liked the things they were saying to me," Dickey said. "I had a nice, long talk with [Mariners GM] Jack Zduriencik over the phone. But in the end, the Twins seemed more interested. They were saying things about the quality of player they look for and how they like to have character guys on their team. It was nice to hear that they thought of me that way."

The Mariners are sifting through a number of bullpen and long-relief options after the recent J.J. Putz deal and some Rule 5 draft additions.

Dickey went 5-8 with a 5.21 earned-run average for Seattle last season, but was 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 18 bullpen outings.

The Mariners will still go down as the team that revived Dickey's career off the scrap heap at age 33 in his first year using the knuckleball in the majors. Dickey will fly to Atlanta shortly to work with former knuckleball specialist Phil Niekro in enhancing his bread-and-butter pitch.

"The Mariners gave me the chance I was looking for and I'm grateful to them for that," Dickey said.

"Now, it's on to the next step."

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com