There is another sigh of relief coming out of Atlanta. The Braves and closer Craig Kimbrel have reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension.
Already this offseason the Braves have given extensions to Julio Teheran, Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward, Re-signing Kimbrel keeps one of baseballs best in their bullpen for years to come without the arbitration process.
Kimbrel was scheduled for an arbitration hearing much like Heyward and Freeman were before they reached extensions.
Kimbrel's deal is guaranteed to be for four years and $42 million. Potential Max value is five years and $58 million.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) February 16, 2014
The Braves have bought out one, maybe two years of free agency as the deal includes a club option for 2018. Kimbrel will make $42 million over the first four years with another $3.5 million available in performance bonuses. The fifth year option is worth $13 million if the Braves pick it up/
In 2013 Kimbrel saved 50 games posting a 1.21 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP over 67 innings.
