Lowe agrees to $60 million deal with Braves

By DAVID O'BRIEN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Braves finally have their ace.

They’ve agreed to terms with veteran pitcher Derek Lowe on a four-year, $60 million contract, a person familiar with negotiations said this morning. The deal will be finalized after Lowe takes a physical Wednesday.

Lowe would join a potentially strong new-look Braves rotation that will include Jair Jurrjens and offseason additions Javier Vazquez and Kenshin Kawakami, a Japanesse star who’ll be introduced to Atlanta at a news conference this afternoon to announce his free-agent signing.

Lowe, 35, has been among baseball’s most reliable starting pitchers since moving to Boston’s rotation in 2002, averaging 15 wins, 208 innings and nearly 34 starts over the past seven seasons.

In 2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings, including 6-1 with a 1.27 ERA in his last 10 starts.

He has plenty of postseason experience, going 5-5 with a save and a 3.33 ERA in 21 games (10 starts), including 4-1 in his past eight.

For Boston’s 2004 World Series champions, he was 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA in four postseason games, with decisions in three series-clinching wins.

Before landing Kawakami and Lowe in the past four days, the Braves had fallen short in several other offseason pursuits of pitchers - notably Peavy, A.J. Burnett and Mike Hampton - as well as their attempt to sign shortstop Rafael Furcal.

Then there was the blow of franchise icon John Smoltz’s decision to go to Boston. Getting Lowe seemed ever more crucial for the Braves, who’ve added two durable starters in him and Vazquez, plus a former 215-inning starter in Kawakami. All are right-handers.

In Lowe, however, they add more than just another workhorse. He has a 126-107 career record (along with 85 saves) and a 3.75 ERA, compared to Vazquez’s 127-129 record and 4.32 ERA.

That was a bit out of no where for me...

That is a lot of money