Reliever Iglesias returning to Braves on 1-year, $16 million deal

ATLANTA -- When Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos didn’t trade Raisel Iglesias before the July 31 Trade Deadline, he knew there might be a long-term benefit.

That benefit was realized on Wednesday night, when Iglesias signed a one-year, $16 million contract with the Braves. There was always mutual interest between the team and the 35-year-old closer to extend their relationship.

“We always had intentions to bring him back,” Anthopoulos said. “We didn't know when it would get done or how long it would take. I think staying with the same team makes it easier for that to happen. Sometimes when you cut the cord and people move on to other places, there's hard feelings.”

Anthopoulos made significant progress with his roster reconstruction efforts on Wednesday, when he also acquired Mauricio Dubón from the Astros. Dubón could end up being Atlanta’s primary shortstop, while Iglesias will serve as the Braves’ closer for a fourth straight season.

Iglesias, who will turn 36 in January, also made $16 million each of the past three seasons.

“We know he fits in the clubhouse,” Anthopoulos said. “We know the health. We know the makeup. We know the ability. He's such a great fit for us. He wanted to be here. I don’t want to speak for him, but I think his goal and his first choice was to be back in Atlanta.”

Iglesias struggled at the start of last season, posting a 6.75 ERA through his first 25 appearances. But he returned to form while constructing a 1.25 ERA over the 45 appearances (43 1/3 innings) that followed. He ended up producing a respectable 3.21 ERA over a career-high 70 appearances.

There was some interest in Iglesias leading into the Trade Deadline, but nothing that would have benefited the Braves beyond saving some money over the season’s final two months. Anthopoulos knew the long-term benefits of keeping the reliever in the organization would outweigh a salary dump.

Iglesias converted 67 of 75 saves while posting a 2.30 ERA over 124 appearances for Atlanta from 2023-24. He will enter the 2026 season with 253 career saves.

Now that the Braves know who will serve as their closer, they will need to continue to rebuild their bullpen. The recent departures of Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley erased a couple of high-leverage options. It’s also unclear when Joe Jiménez might fully recover from the left knee surgery he underwent in October 2024.

“We're going to need to do more,” Anthopoulos said. “How that's going to present itself, who, what, when and where? I don't know yet, but closer is definitely the anchor, and you definitely want to get that solved.”