Braves sign Wagner

The Atlanta Braves have agreed to a contract with closer Billy Wagner to a one-year, $7 million deal with a vested option for 2011 worth $6.5 million. Wagner had a 1.98 ERA in 13 appearances for the Boston Red Sox last year after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The vesting option will become guaranteed if Wagner appears in 50 games this season.

A Type A free agent, the 38-year old gets Boston Atlanta’s first-round pick this year (20th overall) and a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds. That supplemental pick would drop to a second rounder if Atlanta signs a higher ranking free agent or some crap. But that’s highly unlikely according to Ken Rosenthal from Foxsports.com. We’ll take his word for it.

Why do baseball signings have to be so friggin’ complex? Just sign the dude. We don’t feel like typing all of this. For the love of god. I mean…he still has to pass a physical. What if he fails his physical and I typed this all for nothing? Talk about a waste of time.

So anyway, the Braves are doing this because they know there is a very good chance they lose relievers Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano to free agency. They need Wagner to come in late in games and then make inappropriate comments afterwards.