Braves Officially Ink Troy Glaus To 1 Year Deal

An article by Hojo's Mojo    1 Comment

According to Yahoo! Sports Troy Glaus and the Atlanta Braves have both agreed to a $1.75 million, one year contract Tuesday that will allow Glaus to earn an additional $2.25 million in roster bonuses and performance.

After missing most of the 2009 season with the St. Louis Cardinals following right shoulder surgery, Glaus says that he is now ready to return to the field and move from third base to first for Atlanta.

“I have no concerns about being able to go out there and play, I’ve been able to get myself this winter in the quality of shape I wasn’t able to the winter before. I foresee continuing on where I left off.”

Glaus is a four-time All-Star and the 2002 World Series MVP with the Anaheim Angels. The soon to be 34-year-old Glaus has played third base for most of his career. He said he placed a higher priority on signing with a competitive team than finding one that would keep him at third base.

“I think this affords me an opportunity to play on a team I think is very, very close to going back to the playoffs.” “I’ve been a fan of the organization for a long, long time.”

Glaus hit 27 homers with 99 RBIs for St. Louis in 2008 and had 30 or more homers in five of seven seasons from 2000 to 2006 with the Angels, Arizona and Toronto. He currently has 304 career homers.

The Braves are very eager to see Glaus provide at the plate in which he will add much needed power behind third baseman Chipper Jones and catcher Brian McCann. Last year the Atlanta Braves ranked 22nd in the major leagues with 149 homeruns.

Glaus has played at least 149 games in a season seven times in his career and in those seven seasons he averaged 36 homers, 100 RBIs and 94 runs.

With the Braves, Glaus is expected to replace first baseman Adam La Roche who became a free agent this off-season.

The Braves might view Glaus as a short term answer at first base while another talked about prospect, Freddie Freeman, progresses through the minor leagues.

The Atlanta Braves are really turning into a team that you can count on seeing in the post season. With the signing of Melky Cabrera earlier in the off-season, the Braves outfield is definitely up there.

General manager Frank Wren said that he doesn’t expect any more major moves this off season, which is good for the Mets because it looks like the Braves are snagging semi key free agents. I wouldn’t say that Troy Glaus is the answer to the Braves woes, but it could shape them as a powerful defensive and offensive team for the 2010 season.