The Braves re-signed right-hander Josh Collmenter to at one-year contract Monday, avoiding arbitration with the veteran right-hander, a person familiar with the situation said.
Collmenter, who impressed in three starts for Atlanta after a September trade, will get a guaranteed base salary of $1.2 million, after making $1.825 million last season. He can earn up to another $1.2 million in incentives for a specific number of starts or relief appearances.
He went 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA in three starts during the final two weeks of the season for the Braves, who got Collmenter from the Cubs in a Sept. 14 trade for cash when Atlanta needed an emergency fill-in starter after injuries.
Collmenter had been projected to get a little over $2 million if he’d gone to arbitration, but the Braves would likely have non-tendered him if the sides hadn’t agreed to a deal. He wanted to stay after thoroughly enjoying the clubhouse atmosphere in his brief time with the Braves and manager Brian Snitker.
The Braves are expected to sign or trade for at least two more higher-grade starters this winter to join returners Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz. Collmenter, 30, could end up competing for the final spot in the rotation or be used in a bullpen or swing role. He has plenty of experience both starting and relieving.
An opening-day starter for the Diamondbacks in 2015, Collmenter is 38-33 with a 3.50 ERA in 203 games (78 starts) over parts of six major league seasons, all but three of those games with Arizona.
Released by the Diamondbacks at midseason, he signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs and went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four starts for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate before the Braves picked him up. If he’d not spent time in the minors in 2016, Collmenter would’ve had the six years of service to become a free agent this winter.
Collmenter, who has a distinct over-the-top delivery, began the season on Arizona’s disabled list with shoulder inflammation and was relegated to a bullpen role after returning, eventually getting sent to the minors.
He allowed 15 hits, five runs and five walks with 16 strikeouts in 19 innings of his three starts for the Braves, who won all three of those games. They paid him only a prorated portion of the major league-minimum salary last season, since Arizona was responsible for the rest of his 2016 salary.
