Braves, Lowe agree on $60 million, 4-year deal

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday on a $60 million, four-year contract with Derek Lowe, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

The deal is subject to the pitcher passing a physical, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been completed.

Atlanta also finalized a three-year contract with Japanese all-star pitcher Kenshin Kawakami, but the 35-year-old Lowe is the big catch.

A 14-game winner for the Dodgers in 2008, Lowe visited the Braves last week after longtime Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz agreed to a $5.5 million, one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Braves general manager Frank Wren declined comment on the agreement, but did say that Lowe would be a welcome addition to a rotation devastated by injuries last year. As an added bonus, Atlanta would be landing a pitcher who also was being sought by the rival New York Mets.

“We wanted get back to being a pitching-(oriented) team,” Wren said. “If we can do another couple of moves, we can get back to that point.”

Lowe was a 21-game winner for the Red Sox in 2002 and spent the last four seasons in Los Angeles, where he went 54-48, never had an ERA higher than 3.88 and averaged more than 200 innings a season.

Last season, the right-hander was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings.

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