Tweet
CF Ender Inciarte, Atlanta Braves agree to five-year extension
Outfielder Ender Inciarte has avoided salary arbitration with the Atlanta Braves, agreeing to a $30,525,000, five-year contract through the 2021 season, the team announced Friday.
The deal, announced Friday, covers four years of arbitration eligibility and one year of free agency, and gives Atlanta a club option for 2022.
Inciarte gets a $3.5 million signing bonus payable on Jan. 15 and salaries of $2 million next year, $4 million in 2018, $5 million in 2019, $7 million in 2020 and $8 million in 2021. The Braves' 2022 option is for $9 million or a $1,025,000 buyout.
"We are thrilled to announce an extension for Ender," Braves general manager John Coppolella said in a statement. "We feel that he's the best defensive center fielder in baseball and one of the best leadoff hitters in the game. Ender brings so much to our club, on and off the field, and we are happy to have him under club control for at least the next six years."
Inciarte, the National League Gold Glove winner at his position, hit .291 with three home runs, 85 runs, 29 RBIs and 16 stolen bases last season. He missed 26 games early in the season because of a hamstring injury, but rebounded with a .341 batting average and 59 runs after the All-Star break.
The Braves acquired the 26-year-old Inciarte prior to last season as part of the five-player trade that sent Shelby Miller and minor-leaguer Gabe Speier to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Inciarte, shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson and pitching prospect Aaron Blair.
The deal, announced Friday, covers four years of arbitration eligibility and one year of free agency, and gives Atlanta a club option for 2022.
Inciarte gets a $3.5 million signing bonus payable on Jan. 15 and salaries of $2 million next year, $4 million in 2018, $5 million in 2019, $7 million in 2020 and $8 million in 2021. The Braves' 2022 option is for $9 million or a $1,025,000 buyout.
"We are thrilled to announce an extension for Ender," Braves general manager John Coppolella said in a statement. "We feel that he's the best defensive center fielder in baseball and one of the best leadoff hitters in the game. Ender brings so much to our club, on and off the field, and we are happy to have him under club control for at least the next six years."
Inciarte, the National League Gold Glove winner at his position, hit .291 with three home runs, 85 runs, 29 RBIs and 16 stolen bases last season. He missed 26 games early in the season because of a hamstring injury, but rebounded with a .341 batting average and 59 runs after the All-Star break.
The Braves acquired the 26-year-old Inciarte prior to last season as part of the five-player trade that sent Shelby Miller and minor-leaguer Gabe Speier to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Inciarte, shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson and pitching prospect Aaron Blair.