Atlanta Braves Sign Ender Inciarte to Five-Year Extension

The Atlanta Braves put faith in Ender Inciarte to be a young building block of their team, signing the center fielder to a five-year extension.

The Atlanta Braves continue laying the foundation for their future, agreeing to terms with center fielder Ender Inciarte on a five-year, $30.525 million contract extension. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports that the deal includes an option for a sixth year, while FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal provides a more detailed look at the agreement:

The 26-year-old Inciarte would have been arbitration-eligible for the first time this season as a Super Two player. Originally he would have been able to enter free agency following the 2020 campaign. The new contract will cover all of his arbitration years along with what would have potentially been his first two years of free agency.

Overall, this looks like a solid cost-control move for the Braves on a young player they hope to build around in the seasons ahead. They now have Inciarte signed up for what should hopefully be some of the best years of his career at a very affordable rate. And his recent performance on the field suggests that Atlanta has every reason to be optimistic.

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After being traded from the Diamondbacks to the Braves last offseason as part of the Shelby Miller / Dansby Swanson swap, Inciarte had an admirable first season in Atlanta. It didn’t start out that way, though. He missed the most of the first month of the campaign with a strained hamstring, and by the All-Star break he sported a paltry .227/.294/.306 slash line.

Inciarte caught fire in the second half, however, slashing a torrid .341/.396/.440 over his final 72 games. Altogether, he ended the year with a more-than-respectable .291/.351/.381 triple-slash, three home runs, 29 RBI and 16 stolen bases. Where Inciarte really sets himself apart, though, is through his defense.

Inciarte has been responsible for 64 defensive runs saved (DRS) in the outfield over the last three seasons. That places him third among all outfielders over that span, behind only Kevin Kiermaier (81) and Jason Heyward (68). His 19.3 UZR/150 during those three seasons is good for fifth. Inciarte earned the first Gold Glove of his career this year for his efforts.

Braves fans can get used to seeing a lot more plays like this, when Inciarte robbed Yoenis Cespedes of a would-be game-winning homer last September:

Inciarte’s performance last season may have come in a bit below the standard he set in 2015, when he slashed .303/.338/.408 and posted a 5.3 bWAR for the D-Backs. However, even with an ugly, injury-marred first half, he managed a 3.8 bWAR in 2016. Entering his age-26 season, it’s not unreasonable to expect further improvement in Ender’s game. (Forgive a little sci-fi humor there.)

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Braves general manager John Coppolella expressed his excitement over the extension in a statement, saying, “We feel that he’s the best defensive center fielder in baseball and one of the best leadoff hitters in the game.” Indeed, Inciarte proved to be a sparkplug this year for the Braves at the top of their lineup. He slashed .308/.372/.418 out of the leadoff spot.