Atlanta Braves Sign Jacob Lindgren, Keep Eye on Future

The Atlanta Braves signed injured relief pitcher Jacob Lindgren on Sunday, showing they are still focused on the future despite recent acquisitions.

The Atlanta Braves have had an incredibly active offseason thus far, and the Winter Meetings have barely begun. While each move taken on its own seems fairly inconsequential, when one looks at the past month as a whole, the picture becomes clear: the Braves might actually know what they’re doing.

Atlanta signed R.A. Dickey on November 10 and Bartolo Colon shortly thereafter to one-year contracts, with Dickey’s deal including a team option for 2018. Last week, Sean Rodriguez was inked to a two-year deal to handle second base while Ozzie Albies spends a couple of months in the minors waiting for the Super Two deadline to pass. The next day, Jaime Garcia was brought into the fold, coming over from St. Louis in exchange for a few useful spare parts. All of these appear to be moves made to position a team to win now. Only Rodriguez is guaranteed a contract beyond the upcoming season, and he has proven to be a tremendous asset when deployed as a utility player.

Perhaps the best indication of where the Braves might be most focused came on Sunday, however, as Atlanta signed left-handed relief pitcher Jacob Lindgren to a major league contract. Lindgren is not expected to pitch in 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August, and he missed much of the 2015 season as well following surgery to remove a bone spur from his left elbow. He has pitched all of seven innings across seven appearances in the big leagues, all for the Yankees in 2015.