Hampton turns down Braves, signs with Astros

Now that he’s finally healthy, pitcher Mike Hampton is bolting the Braves.

The veteran free agent agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with Houston, taking less money than the Braves offered in order to be closer to his children in Arizona, according to two people familiar with the situation.

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Pouya Dianat/pdianat@ajc.com

Mike Hampton is leaving Atlanta, after an injury-plagued tenure with the Braves.

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Hampton, 36, went 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA in 13 starts for the Braves this season, after missing nearly three years recovering from two elbow surgeries and other injuries.

He finally got healthy last summer and posted a 3.72 ERA with eight quality starts in his last nine games. The pitching-thin Braves hoped to re-sign him to an incentive-laden one-year contract.

Instead, Hampton opted for a slightly lesser deal with Houston that includes an opportunity to make about $2 million in additional incentives based on staying healthy and making starts, according to the two people familiar with the situation. He is going through a divorce and wanted to be closer to his children in Arizona.

The Braves paid the left-hander $48.5 million over six seasons, during which he made 85 starts and went 35-24 with a 4.10 ERA in 509 2/3 innings.

That works out to about $570,000 per start, $1.39 million per win, or $95,160 per inning, although insurance paid portions of his salary while he was on the disabled list.

Hampton made $78.5 million during that six-year stretch, the rest paid by the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins as part of the three-team trade that brought him to Atlanta in November 2002.

He signed a then-record eight-year, $121 million contract with Colorado before the 2001 season, and was traded after two disappointing seasons.

After going 63-31 with a 3.30 ERA in 133 starts over the four seasons before he signed the huge contract, Hampton went 56-52 with a 4.81 ERA in 147 starts during the eight-year deal.

Hampton pitched for the Astros for six seasons (1995-99), including his 22-4 season in 1999 when he was the Cy Young Award runner-up to Randy Johnson.

His new contract won’t be finalized until the injury-plagued left-hander passes a physical on Tuesday in Houston. The deal wasn’t expected to be announced until Wednesday.