A question about Atkins

Yes, he's been downright awful this year, and is being overpaid for his performance I realize that, but if you look deeper into the stats, he should be doing way better. His BABIP is downright awful at .242, way below his career BABIP, which is .313, his line drive rate and fallen badly, and are being driven for groundballs. He took his walk and K rate and put them closer to 2006 and 2007 levels. What I'm saying, is that he's bound to improve over the second half, and he's already proven that he's doing a good job as a bench bat. I want Atkins to stay on the team beyond this year, because he's our only proven insurance if an injury happens to say, Helton and Stewart, and because he's actually a good hitter; he was a 5.9 WAR player just a few years ago. Here's the issue though: he's still an arbitration eligible player and vastly overpaid. As far as I'm aware, the system will make him due for a raise, which we can't afford due to the added salaries of some players. This makes him a candidate to be non-tendered this year just as the Rockies did Willy Taveras during this past offseason. If there is no way to have Atkins on our team cheaper than he is now, then I reluctantly agree with a decision to not tender him a contract, but is there a way to have Atkins cheaper? Say we could have him for 2 million, would Rockies fans handle him being a bench bat for that price? So would it be possible for Atkins to stay on the team for another year at a cheaper price, and work around the arbitration system?