Dan Uggla officially pens five-year deal with the Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves will look back to last season and realise that they were within striking distance of a National League Championship spot. The playoffs never turned out well for the side, as they crumbled out of the competition following a series of defeats
suffered at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. The squad lost skipper Bobby Cox to the series, and went into the wither break with a new manager.
Now with the spring training period just around the corner, there is hope for 2011 to be a glorious year for the club. As the start of the season inches closer, the Braves have checked the first important thing off their list. The club’s General Manager
Frank Wren has pleased the fans with the signing of Dan Uggla. The second baseman, who was acquired from the Florida Marlins on a trade deal in November, has stretched his one-year contract to five years.
A report had come through on the signing a couple of days ago but the news has now been confirmed, following a physical examination. The 30-year-old player has agreed to the deal, which will see him make $62 million over the next five years. The Braves will
be delighted to see their side strengthened as the 2011 season approaches.
"We had Dan under control for one year," Wren said. "If we had waited until the end of this year, he's going to get at least a four-year deal (as a free agent). So it drove us to go ahead and do a five-year deal now and make sure he was going to be an Atlanta
Brave ... at the end of the day, it was somewhat of a simple decision for us."
Uggla had the option to test the waters in the free agency at the end of the regular season this year but he opted for the deal instead. The hitter, who fell out with the Marlins, was able to explain why he made the decision to stay in the Braves line up
for an extended time.
"You can test the market and get a lot of money," Uggla said. "There might have been more money out there on the free-agent market next year. Who knows? The bottom line is this is where I wanted to be. It was a great offer they put in front of me. It was
a no-brainer. I wanted to be close to home. I wanted to play for the Atlanta Braves. I'm a very happy man."
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