PHOENIX — The Braves announced Wednesday the contract that right-hander Josh Collmenter agreed to Monday, a one-year deal that provides the team with some depth and versatility at a relative bargain price.
Collmenter, who excelled in three starts after a September trade to the Braves, will get a guaranteed base salary of $1.2 million, after making $1.825 million in 2016. He can earn up to $1.2 million more in incentives if he makes a specific number of starts or relief appearances.
“What we saw out of Josh at the end of the year and being able to bring him back on a (one-year) contract made a lot of sense for us,” Braves general manager John Coppolella said, “because he can be a starter, he can pitch in the bullpen, he can be a long man. Kind of like a Swiss Army knife, if you will. And he’s performed very well in a tough hitter’s park (Arizona) for much of his career. We feel like he’s somebody that’s going to help us.”
Collmenter, 30, went 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA in three starts during the final two weeks of the season for the Braves, who got the right-hander from the Cubs in a Sept. 14 trade for cash. They needed an emergency fill-in starter after injuries to other Braves, and he surpassed expectations.
He been projected to get a little over $2 million if he’d gone to arbitration, but the Braves would have non-tendered Collmenter if the sides hadn’t agreed to a deal beforehand arbitration. He wanted to return after enjoying the experience of his brief time with the Braves.
“Nobody knows where this market is going to go,” said Coppolella, who hopes to add a couple more starters this winter through free agency or trades, “and just knowing that somebody who fit well on the team and kind of got a three- or four-week trial and did well and has a good history, gives us a lot of confidence going into the season that he’ll be able to help us.”
Collmenter, an opening-day starter for the Diamondbacks in 2015, has a 38-33 record and 3.50 ERA in 203 games (78 starts) over parts of six major league seasons.
Released by the Diamondbacks last year at midseason, he signed a minor league deal with the Cubs and went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four Triple-A starts before the Braves traded for him.
He allowed 15 hits, five runs and five walks with 16 strikeouts in 19 innings of three starts for the Braves, who won all three.
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