Atlanta Braves General Manager John Coppolella announced today that the Braves have agreed to terms with catcher Kurt Suzuki on a one-year contract for the 2018 season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Suzuki, who turns 34 on October 4, is in his first campaign with the Braves this season. He is hitting .271 with a career-high 18 home runs (in just 76 games and 255 at-bats). Last night he posted his third multi-home run game of the season and his 14 home runs since the beginning of July are tied with Freddie Freeman for the club lead in that period.
Suzuki spent three seasons (2014-16) with the Minnesota Twins and batted .258 with 34 runs, 24 doubles, eight home runs and 49 RBI in 2016. During his first campaign with Minnesota in 2014, he was named an American League All-Star and was also honored with the Bob Allison Award for determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit and leadership by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder is a veteran of 11 Major League seasons and has appeared in 1,284 games, including 1,224 at catcher since entering the league in 2007 (fourth most in the Major Leagues in that span). A career .256 hitter, Suzuki owns 1,140 career hits, including 1,097 hits as a catcher. His hit total as a backstop ranks fifth in the majors since 2007, while his 227 doubles as a catcher ranks third.
A native of Wailuku, Hawaii, Suzuki was originally drafted by Oakland in the second round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft. He played his first six seasons in Oakland before being traded to Washington in August 2012. He was traded back to Oakland from the Nationals in August 2013 before signing with Minnesota as a free agent prior to the 2014 season.