The Baltimore Orioles have now watched two of their outfielders depart via free agency. Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz left in the same week. After acquiring Cruz, the Seattle Mariners traded an outfielder to the Toronto Blue Jays for a pitcher.
According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, Markakis agreed to a four-year deal with the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. The terms have not yet been disclosed, but Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun notes the contract is worth around $44 million. Markakis and the Orioles were in serious talks about a similar contract, but negotiations stalled and didn't pick up significantly in the past month or so.
Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez and assistant general manager John Coppolella flew to Balitmore on Monday to meet with Markakis, which is likely what sealed the deal for the contract agreement. The Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants were also interested in the 31-year-old outfielder, but Atlanta was able to continue their active offseason and brought him on board. Markakis batted .276 in 2014 with 81 runs scored, 14 home runs and 50 RBIs in 155 games.
The Braves also signed right-handed reliever Jim Johnson to a one-year, $1.6 million deal on Wednesday.
As free agent signings continue to pick up, teams across the league are taking advantage of the robust trade market. The Seattle Mariners sent outfielder Michael Saunders to the Toronto Blue Jays for left-handed starter J.A. Happ, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark. Seattle landed outfielder Nelson Cruz on Monday, who will likely play some right field for them, which made Saunders expendable. With starting pitcher Chris Young likely leaving via free agency, the addition of Happ gives them a fifth starter in the rotation.
As for Toronto, they'll get Saunders to help with the eventual outfield vacancy when Melky Cabrera departs via free agency. He has draft pick compensation tied to him and the Blue Jays already surrendered their first rounder when they signed catcher Russell Martin, so it's getting clearer they're shying away from Cabrera. The team just spent $82 million on Martin and acquired Oakland A's third baseman Josh Donaldson, who is expected to get a nice raise in arbitration.
Happ posted an 11-11 record in 2014 with a 4.22 ERA and 1.335 WHIP in 30 appearances (26 starts). Saunders batted .273 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 78 games with Seattle this past season.
