Braves, Jason Heyward Agree On A Two Year Deal
By Eric Graff
Sep 28, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward (22) prepares for a game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The Braves and Jason Heyward have agreed to terms on a 2 year contract extension today, buying out his two remaining arbitration years.
The Braves have agreed to terms with outfielder Jason Heyward on a two-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) February 4, 2014
This is nothing but good news for the Braves and Heyward, especially with their future negotiations. Arbitration is never a good thing to have to go through. It’s not good for a player to hear his team tell him reasons that he is not worth the money he is seeking. Now, the Braves will not have to do that with Heyward this year or next. It is also good that the two sides are talking. This bodes well for possible future negotiations between the two sides in my opinion. It shows a willingness of the Braves to WANT Heyward enough to make this deal and it shows a willingness on the side of Heyward that he is willing to talk to them. Here is an awesome quote from Frank Wren about the deal:
“Jason is an important part of our organization and we’re glad that we were able to agree on a multi-year contract.”
Here is the reported money part of the 2 year extension according to Jon Heyman:
Jason Heyward gets $13.3M for 2 yrs #braves
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 4, 2014
I think the money seems pretty fair for the Braves, especially if Jason stays healthy and puts up the numbers he is capable of. He is one of the top defensive right-fielders in baseball and was really good out of the lead-off spot for the small time he was in it last season. If Jason can perform anywhere near what he was doing during that lead off stint, this deal will be a huge bargain for the Braves.
Frank Wren announced after the deal that the Braves are still a strict “file and trial” club, but that multi year extensions do not fall under that rule.
Following this move, the Braves are down to two arbitration cases, Freddie Freeman and Craig Kimbrel. It would be great if we could see similar announcements of extensions for those two guys soon, but I wouldn’t hold my breath, especially for Kimbrel.