Glavine returns to Braves

ATLANTA: Tom Glavine returned to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, agreeing to an $8 million, one-year contract.

The agreement between the two-time National League Cy Young pitching award winner and the Braves was revealed by a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not yet announced it.

The 303-game winning Glavine already has taken a physical for the Braves, the person said.

The Braves needed less than a week to lure Glavine back after an acrimonious split in 2002 that led to him spending five seasons with the New York Mets.

Glavine maintained his home in Atlanta even after he signed with the Mets, and it was clear the crafty left-hander wanted to finish his career with the Braves when he turned down a $13 million option to return to New York in 2008, taking a $3 million buyout.

He then gave the Braves a bit of a hometown discount, something he wouldn't do five years ago. The contract includes no performance bonuses.

The Braves held their first talks with Glavine's agent, Gregg Clifton, on Wednesday in Phoenix. Two days later, the Braves made an offer and Clifton reacted positively, a sure sign that a deal wouldn't take long to reach.

The Braves were eager to add depth to a rotation that relied heavily on John Smoltz and Tim Hudson and never really settled on reliable options in the fourth and fifth slots. In addition to landing Glavine, they hope for a return to health by Mike Hampton, who missed the last two seasons with injuries. He has started another rehab stint in the Arizona Fall League.

Glavine, who will turn 42 before the start of next season, went 13-8 with a 4.45 ERA in 200 1/3 innings for the Mets this year.

Glavine came up to the Braves in 1987, part of an impressive class of young pitchers that also included Smoltz and Steve Avery. Those three helped the Braves to a remarkable worst-to-first turnaround in 1991, when Atlanta made it all the way to Game 7 of a memorable World Series before losing to Minnesota.

Glavine won the first of his two Cy Young awards with the Braves in 1991, which also was the first of five 20-win seasons he had with the team. He won a career-best 22 games in 1993, and added another Cy Young award in 1998 when he went 20-6.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/20/2007 page24)