UPDATE – 6:19 P.M.
After speculation and reports saying that talks between OF Nick Markakis and the Atlanta Braves have intensifying, the parties have agreed to a four-year deal believed to be in the $44 million range, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Source: OF Nick Markakis agrees to four-year deal with Atlanta Braves. Dollars unclear, but sides discussed a deal in neighborhood of $44M.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 3, 2014
Before this deal, Markakis had been the longest-tenured player to wear a Baltimore Orioles‘ uniform at 9 years.
ORIGINAL TEXT –
The Atlanta Braves are in serious negotiations with free agent outfielder Nick Markakis, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney. The career Baltimore Orioles seemed likely to return to Baltimore until contract discussions hit a bump in the road a few days ago.
While no deal is officially done, Olney reported that a potential deal could be in the four-year, $45 million range.
The negotiations between the Braves and outfielder Nick Markakis have intensified. Hearing the deal could wind up in range of 4/$45m.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 3, 2014
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has also confirmed Olney’s report that talks are indeed serious between the two sides.
Source confirms that talks between #Braves and Markakis are serious. @Buster_ESPN reported that deal could be four years, $45M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 3, 2014
The Braves have already dealt away gold-glove right fielder Jason Heyward to the Cardinals this off-season, and a Markakis signing could potentially make a Justin Upton deal more likely as John Hart looks to revamp the organization in his first season at the helm.
Stay tuned to Baseball Essential for more updates.
John Sorce is a correspondent for Baseball Essential
Leave a Reply