The Braves announced Saturday that they have signed both right-hander Reynaldo López and left-hander Aaron Bummer to new contracts. They also selected right-hander Domingo Gonzalez to the roster. López will make $30M over the next three years: $8M in 2025, $14M in 2026 and $8M in 2027.
On his previous deal, he was set to make $11M in ’25 and ’26 with an $8M club option and $4M buyout for ’27. This deal effectively guarantees that club option ahead of time while allowing Atlanta to move some of his money from the ’25 ledger to the ’26 ledger. Bummer’s deal had two club options for ’25 and ’26, valued at $7.
25M with $1.25M buyouts. Per Saturday’s announcement, he is now guaranteed $13M over the next two years: $3.
5M in ’25 and $9.5M in ’26. That’s slightly less than the $14.
5M he could have made if both options were eventually picked up. Still, he gets the security of having it locked in now, staving off any chance of an injury or a decline in performance hurting his future earning power. In this instance as well, the club moves some money from ’25 to ’26.
Before the offseason has begun in earnest, Atlanta’s payroll and competitive balance tax situation has already been a clear focus. Almost as soon as trades were allowed, outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler was flipped to the Angels, essentially as a salary dump. Atlanta got right-hander Griffin Canning in return, but it seems their primary motivation was to get rid of the two years and $.
