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Sources: Braves land Lowe on 4-year, $60M deal

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Ken Rosenthal

Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since August 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Jan 14, 2009 10:10 PM ET
     
 
The Braves have reached preliminary agreement with free-agent right-hander Derek Lowe on a four-year, $60 million contract, according to major-league sources. The deal, first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is pending a physical. Lowe, 36, is the third starting pitcher added by the Braves this season, joining right-hander Javier Vazquez and Japanese right-hander Kenshin Kawakami. The team's next step will be to add a bat, and the club has spoken with the Yankees about their available hitters, Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher, sources said. The Mets, the other principal suitor for Lowe, will now attempt to sign one of the remaining free-agent left-handers, Oliver Perez or Randy Wolf. They also could attempt to re-sign free-agent righy Pedro Martinez. Both Perez and Lowe are represented by Scott Boras, who routinely seeks — and secures — high-dollar contracts for his clients. Wolf is represented by Arn Tellem, who also is one of the agents for Francisco Rodriguez, the free-agent closer the Mets recently signed to a three-year, $36 million contract. The Braves offered Lowe a fourth guaranteed year on the condition that he accept the deal quickly. Their proposal trumped the Mets' three-year, $36 million offer by a wide margin, but the Braves did not want to lose Lowe after failing in attempts to land pitchers Jake Peavy and A.J. Burnett and shortstop Rafael Furcal earlier this offseason. In addition to the financial package, the Braves sold Lowe on the idea of working with pitching coach Roger McDowell, a former major-league reliever who — like Lowe — relied on a sinkerball as his primary pitch. Lowe has averaged 208 innings and a 3.79 ERA the past seven seasons while pitching for the Red Sox and Dodgers. He has never been on the disabled list, and is 126-107 lifetime with a 3.75 ERA. Kawakami, the 2004 Central League MVP, has won 112 games in 11 seasons in Japan and was regarded as one of the top free-agent pitchers from Japan available this offseason. The 33-year-old was 9-5 for the Chunichi Dragons last year, though he missed several weeks with a strained back. The Braves were confident in his health after the 5-foot-10 right-hander passed a physical on Monday. He will be the first Japanese-born player in franchise history. "This is a very significant signing for the Braves," general manager Frank Wren said. "Not only is this a historically important day for the Braves franchise, but with Kenshin we have acquired a pitcher who will be an integral part of our pitching staff over the next three seasons." Though many Atlanta fans were outraged over the loss of John Smoltz — who signed with the Red Sox — Wren moved quickly to shore up the beleaguered rotation. Lowe was a 21-game winner for the Red Sox in 2002 and spent the last four seasons in Los Angeles, where he went 54-48, never had an ERA higher than 3.88 and averaged more than 200 innings a season. Last season, Lowe was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings. Kawakami is another important addition. The Braves have attempted to boost their presence in Japan in recent years, and manager Bobby Cox said scouts have closely followed the right-hander. "We've had some guys watch him the last couple of years, and they like him," Cox said, who also was impressed after watching video of the Japanese pitcher. "He looked very good. He was able to throw the ball right where he wanted to with three or four pitches." Kawakami will join Vazquez and Lowe as newcomers to a rotation that also includes Jair Jurrjens, the team's top starter last season with a 13-10 record and 3.68 ERA. Another rookie, Jorge Campillo, was 8-7 with a 3.91 ERA. Vazquez was acquired from the Chicago White Sox for a package of minor leaguers after going 12-16 with a 4.67 ERA. Tim Hudson, who has a year remaining on his contract, isn't likely to return until the second half of the season as he recovers from elbow ligament-replacement surgery. Tom Glavine remains unsigned as the Braves monitor his recovery from surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left elbow. The 42-year-old left-hander pushed back original plans to begin throwing this week. He has said he will either pitch for the Braves or retire. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tagged: Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Braves

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