Atlanta Braves lock up Spencer Strider with 6-year, $75M deal

The Atlanta Braves have signed rookie right-hander Spencer Strider to a six-year contract worth $75 million through the 2028 season, the team announced Monday.

The deal includes a $22 million club option for 2029 with a $5 million buyout.

Strider will make $1 million per season for 2023 and 2024, $4 million in 2025, $20 million in 2026, and $22 million per season in 2027 and 2028. The deal will be worth $92 million over seven years if the option is exercised.

Strider, 23, has been excellent in his first full season with Atlanta, going 11-5 with a 2.67 ERA and 202 strikeouts in 31 appearances (20 starts). He has recorded 10 or more strikeouts in a game six times this season, including twice last month -- striking out 16 against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 1 and 10 on Sept. 18 against the Phillies.

Strider broke the record for fastest to 200 strikeouts in a single season, doing so in 130 innings, two-thirds of an inning quicker than Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2001.

The Braves put Strider on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 24 with a strained left oblique muscle, but Atlanta is optimistic about his chances of being ready for the NLDS against Philadelphia, according to a report in The Athletic.