Braves sign rookie pitcher Spencer Strider to six-year, $75 million contract

The Atlanta Braves are at it again. They announced on Monday morning that they've signed right-handed pitcher Spencer Strider to a six-year, $75 million contract that will keep him with the Braves through at least 2028. The contract also contains a club option for 2029.

On average Strider, who is 23 and was the Braves' fourth-round draft pick back in 2020, will make $12.5 million a year, but the contract isn't being paid out that way. He'll make $1 million in 2023 and 2024, $4 million in 2025, $20 million in 2026, and $22 million in 2027 and 2028. His 2029 club option is worth $22 million or a $5 million buyout.

Strider made his debut with the Braves in 2021, pitching in just two games before the season ended. He came back and pitched pretty much a full 2022, appearing in 31 games with 20 starts and ending the season with a 2.67 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 131.2 innings. He began the year in the bullpen, but joined the rotation on May 30 and never looked back. He's had six games this season in which he struck out at least 10 batters, and set the Braves record for most strikeouts in a single game against when he fanned 16 Colorado Rockies batters over eight innings last month.

He's had a heckuva rookie season, so it's no surprise that the Braves locked him up. He may even get to make his postseason debut in the coming week. He's been on the injured list with an oblique strain since Sept. 24, but he could be ready to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the upcoming National League Division Series.

All part of the Braves plan

Signing Strider at just 23 years old and barely one year of major league service time is the type of thing the Braves are known for. They've locked up several of their young stars over the past few years, keeping them with the flock while controlling their impact on the payroll. Ronald Acuna signed an 8-year deal with the Braves in 2019 that's worth $100 million. Ozzie Albies also signed a long-term deal with the Braves in 2019, which pays him $7 million a year through at least 2025.

All those deals are below market (they pay less than what the player would make on the open market) and for at least 4 years, which makes payroll management easier because there isn't the question of arbitration. But they also keep a successful team together so they can continue to do what they were built to do: win.