Former Marlins’ man, Dan Uggla, pens a five-year deal in Atlanta
The coming year looks bright for the Atlanta Braves. 2011 will see a confirmed signing and a regular player make the starting line up at the second baseman position. A trade deal which involved the club’s utility player Omar Infante, and reliever Mike Dunn
had channelled Dan Uggla to the Braves in exchange.
In losing two regular club players, the Braves gained power and prowess in the form of Dan Uggla. The former Florida Marlins player will be the regular position holder at second base, and reports suggest that he will continue to be there until the end of
2015.The Braves traded Infante for Uggla at the start of the off-season period. The move came quickly, as the free market was picking up momentum and flow.
For the Braves, it meant signing a good credible player on an important position in the club. The signing cleared one big hurdle. However, another problem came to the forefront. The Braves took on a contract that was going to last one year. That created
a problem for the team, and hence negotiations with Uggla began on signing an extension deal.
Now after more than a month, the two sides have come to terms on a deal, which will see the partnership pan out for another five years. The 30-year-old second baseman has signed a deal that is worth $62 million. The news comes from a source inside Major
League Baseball. Though there has not been any public confirmation of the extension deal, the contract is said to be finalised, subject to a physical check-up.
For the club’s General Manager, Frank Wren, the possibility of a mega-deal was always there. He was confident that things would work out, and that seems to be the case now. Dan had come to the side with a positive outlook on his role in the team. When he
was officially signed on the 19 of November, he made a statement to hint at a potential deal.
"I'm very interested in staying here for longer than just a year," said Uggla.
For the Braves, that meant a lot. Uggla had gone through a difficult time negotiating a deal with the Marlins. The two parties were however unable to reach an agreement. When club owner Jeffrey Loria commented on the player after the trade with the Braves,
and that summed up the bad blood between the player and his former club.
"If somebody wants to give him five years, good luck to them," Loria told reporters, "He's 31-years-old."
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