The Atlanta Braves have locked up another piece of their future, signing 25-year-old closer Craig Kimbrel to a four-year contract extension worth $42 million in guaranteed money. The deal allows the Braves to avoid salary arbitration with Kimbrel over the next three seasons, and locks him up for the first year he would have been eligible for free agency.
Braves Lock Up Craig Kimbrel
The deal also includes a club option for 2018, which would be the second year that Kimbrel would be eligible for free agency. The option year would be worth $13 million, and there are other performance related bonuses included in the contract, bringing the potential value of the deal up to $58 million over five years.
Kimbrel has been spectacular thus far in his young career, with a ridiculous 1.39 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 139 saves and 15.1 K/9 in 227 1/3 career major league innings over parts of four major league seasons, all with Atlanta. He saved a National League-high 50 games last year for the Braves, while putting up a 1.21 ERA and 0.88 WHIP, and 98 strikeouts in just 67 innings. He helped the Braves back to the post-season as they finished a whopping ten games up in the National League East race.
Atlanta has also inked first baseman Freddie Freeman and starting pitcher Julio Teheran to long-term extensions this winter, and outfielder Jason Heyward avoided arbitration earlier this month on a two-year, $13.3 million deal.
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