Glavine agrees to $8 million contract with Braves

NEW YORK -- Tom Glavine is coming home.

The 303-game winner returned to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, agreeing to an $8 million, one-year contract.

The agreement between the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner and the Braves was hammered out during weekend talks, said Glavine's agent, Gregg Clifton. The pitcher already has taken a physical for Atlanta, the final formality in the deal.

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. His old -- make that new -- team was expected to formally introduce him at a news conference Monday at Turner Field.

"While Tom is disappointed to be leaving New York and all of his friends and teammates there, he has an opportunity to go back to Atlanta to continue his career with the Braves," Clifton told the Associated Press. "Ultimately, as everyone knows, Tom's decision was tremendously influenced by the importance of his family being paramount in his life."

Glavine, who is married and has four children, kept his primary home in suburban 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 wasn't willing to do five years ago. The contract includes no performance bonuses.

Tom Glavine looks to bring back some of his '90s magic to the Braves rotation. (US Presswire)

Frank Wren, the Braves' new general manager, held his first talks with Clifton on Wednesday in Phoenix. Two days later, the Braves made their initial 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 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.

The loss of Glavine to an NL East rival leaves New York looking for another starter to add to its rotation. Free agent Livan Hernandez is a possibility, and the Mets also hope to make a trade pitch for Minnesota ace Johan Santana if the Twins decide they can't re-sign him.

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 '91, 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.