Former White sox starter Gavin Floyd has passed his physical and agreed to a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves, as ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports. The deal is worth $4 million, but Floyd can earn an extra $4.5 million in performance-based incentives.
Gavin Floyd signs 1-year, $4 million deal with Braves
Atlanta will hope for a bounce-back campaign from the 10-year veteran.
David Banks
Floyd underwent Tommy John surgery in May, so he isn’t likely to be available to start the season in the Braves rotation. Complete recovery from the operation typically takes right around 12 months, so he could still end up seeing significant time during the 2014 season, assuming there are no setbacks that interrupt his rehab.
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In over 1,100 career innings, Floyd has posted an ERA+ of exactly 100 (league average) and gone 70-70 in decisions. That may sound pretty vanilla, but a league-average starter at the back end of the rotation can be a valuable commodity, as evidenced by the many lucrative deals that have been signed this winter, such as Scott Feldman's three-year, $30 million deal with the Astros and Jason Vargas' four-year, $32 million pact with Kansas City.
If he does bounce back, Floyd could be an asset to a Braves rotation that will rely on several young arms. Veterans Tim Hudson and Paul Maholm became free agents after the season. Hudson signed a two-year deal with the Giants, and Maholm is unlikely to return thanks to the many internal options coming out of a strong Atlanta farm system.
The Braves will also be hoping for a healthy return from Brandon Beachy, who underwent Tommy John this year as well and had a follow-up surgery on his elbow in September. He should be ready sometime around the start of spring training. Atlanta’s rotation will also feature Mike Minor, Kris Medlen, and Julio Teheran as they did last year, with the fifth spot likely decided by a competition between lefty Alex Wood and righty David Hale.
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