Braves Ink Spencer Strider to Six-Year, $75-Million Contract Extension
General manager Alex Anthopoulos continues to work his magic in Atlanta, locking up another key member of the Braves’ core.
The team announced its latest contract extension on Monday, involving right-hander Spencer Strider. The 23-year-old, who’s currently injured with a strained oblique, has signed a six-year, $75-million deal that runs through 2028. His contract also includes a $22 million club option for 2029 with a $5 million buyout.
This transaction buys out two pre-arbitration seasons, three arbitration and one free-agent, two if Strider’s club option is exercised. He’ll earn $1 million per season through 2024, $4 million in ‘25, $20 million in ‘26 and $22 million per season through ‘28.
Strider is coming off his first full regular season in the majors, where he posted an impressive 2.67 ERA and 2.39 xERA in 31 appearances (20 starts) across 131.2 innings. The 6-foot hurler was worth 4.9 fWAR, highest among all big-league rookie pitchers.
The former fourth-round selection from 2020 is the latest Brave to sign long-term before reaching free agency, joining Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Vaughn Grissom, William Contreras, Kyle Wright and Michael Harris II. Matt Olson’s lucrative free-agent deal also carries him through 2030.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson is the most notable member of Atlanta’s core who remains unsigned beyond this season. Now, Anthopoulos’ focus is likely to shift towards re-signing the All-Star infielder, who’s eligible to enter free agency after this season.
The hard-throwing righty, meanwhile, has been rewarded for his incredible rookie performance, which is likely to earn him a nomination for this season’s NL Rookie of the Year Award. Harris is the front-runner to capture that honour, though.
Still, Atlanta’s young hurler appears to have a very bright future ahead of him, although it’s unclear if he’ll return against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. Despite throwing off a mound on Sunday, manager Brian Snitker isn’t ready to announce his pitcher’s status ahead of Game 1.
With Strider’s last start occurring on Sep. 18 – nearly a month ago – he probably isn’t stretched out enough to pitch deeper than just a few innings. In that case, the flamethrower could serve as a multi-inning reliever throughout the postseason.
If healthy, the Columbus, Ohio, native would provide a major punch out of the Braves’ bullpen. His 38.3 percent strikeout rate from the regular season – generated by his high-90s fastball and mid-80s slider – could serve as a huge difference-maker in high-leverage situations.
Between Kenley Jansen, A.J. Minter, Raisel Iglesias, Collin McHugh, Tyler Matzek and likely Strider, it’ll be tough to score many runs late in games against this talented group of arms. And the same goes for the starting rotation, too.
The Braves were already well-equipped for an intense series versus the Phillies, but with Strider now extended and likely to debut at some point, they’re easily the favourite to advance to the NLCS.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85