Shane Greene, Braves Agree to Minor-League Contract

Veteran reliever Shane Greene has agreed to a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves and will report to Triple-A Gwinnett.

According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Greene agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million

Greene, 32, spent parts of the last two seasons with the Braves, going 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 52.1 innings (55 appearances). He was an All-Star in 2019. 

He's also had stints with the New York Yankees (2014) and Detroit Tigers (2015-19). He spent time as Detroit's closer, with 63 saves between the 2017-19 seasons, though Mark Melancon held down that role for the Braves last year and Will Smith has served as the team's closer this year. 

Greene would be a nice addition for a Braves bullpen that has somewhat surprisingly struggled in 2021 after being such a strength last year. Adding Greene, along with getting Chris Martin back from injury, should help. 

The Braves need it. The team has started a disappointing 16-17, though with the rest of the NL East struggling, the Braves find themselves just 1.5 games back of the first-place New York Mets (15-13) and Philadelphia Phillies (18-16). 

The season is young. But it's become pretty clear that the boost to the bullpen Greene can provide is needed in Atlanta.