The Atlanta Braves on Monday announced that they have signed third baseman Austin Riley to a 10-year, $212 million contract extension -- the largest contract in franchise history. The guaranteed portion will run through the 2032 season, and the deal includes an option for the 2033 season priced at $20 million.
The contract, which begins next season, will pay Riley $15 million for the 2023 season, $21 million for 2024, and then $22 million per season from 2025 through 2032. The deal will run at least through Riley's age-36 season and will cover three arbitration years and seven free-agent seasons.
Riley, 25, is enjoying an exceptional 2022 season. Going into Monday's slate, he boasts a slash line of .301/.360/.604 (161 OPS+) with 29 home runs and 31 doubles in 101 games. Earlier this season, he made his first career All-Star appearance. Riley is also coming off a 2021 campaign in which he tallied 33 home runs, won a Silver Slugger, and finished seventh in the National League MVP balloting. For his career, Riley owns an OPS+ of 125 across parts of four big-league seasons. In 2015, the Braves made him the No. 41 overall pick out of DeSoto Central High School in Mississippi.
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Riley now joins Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Matt Olson as young to young-ish Braves position players who are all under contract potentially through at least 2027.
At present, Riley and the reigning-champion Braves are firmly in playoff position in the NL and just three games behind the New York Mets in the NL East standings. After a sub-par first two months of the season, the Braves are 39-14 since June 1.
