Braves Agreed to Terms with Outfielder Zoilo Almonte on One-Year Contract

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Braves announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent outfielder Zoilo Almonte on a one-year contract for the 2015 season. The Braves have also signed right-handed pitcher Chien-Ming Wang and left-handed pitcher Donnie Veal to minor league contracts for 2015 with invitations to Major League spring training. Financial terms of the deals were not announced.

Almonte, 25, has appeared in 47 major league games, all with the New York Yankees over the previous two seasons, including 13 contests in 2014 over three separate stints. He spent the majority of the 2014 campaign with Scranton Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees Triple-A affiliate, where he led the club with 18 home runs and 69 RBI. He batted .261 (110-for-421) with 37 extra-base hits and a .748 OPS. Spanning 690 career minor league games, Almonte owns a .271 batting average with 140 doubles, 88 home runs and 396 RBI. Almonte was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2005, out of the Dominican Republic and made his major league debut in June of 2013. 

Wang, 34, owns eight years of major league experience as he joins his fourth major league team and his fifth professional organization (Cincinnati, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto and Washington). Wang split the 2014 campaign between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox organizations, appearing in a combined 28 games with a 4.12 ERA. He opened the 2014 season with Cincinnati's Triple-A club, the Louisville Bats, where he went 8-5 with a 3.70 ERA over 19 starts. In mid-July, Wang joined the White Sox organization and completed the remainder of the season with the Charlotte Knights, the club's Triple-A affiliate, going 5-3 with a 5.06 ERA over nine starts. In Wang's first two full seasons in the majors, 2006 and 2007, he compiled 19 wins in each season, tying for the American League lead in 2006. Wang twice finished in the top 10 in A.L. Cy Young voting, including a second place finish in 2006 and a seventh place finish in 2007. Over eight major league seasons, Wang owns a 62-34 record with a 4.37 ERA. He was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on May 5, 2000. 

Veal, 30, spent the 2014 season with the Chicago White Sox organization, appearing in a combined 44 games between the major league club and the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. Veal opened the 2014 campaign with Chicago and appeared in seven games prior to joining Charlotte where he posted a 5-4 record with a 5.94 ERA in 37 appearances. Since 2009, Veal has appeared in 100 games at the major league level, going 3-3 with one save and a 4.87 ERA. In 229 minor league games, he owns a 41-43 record with a 3.82 ERA. Veal was originally selected by the Chicago Cubs in the second round (68th overall) of the 2005 June free-agent draft.