Veteran closer Raisel Iglesias is returning to the Atlanta Braves on a one-year, $16 million deal, the team announced Wednesday.
Iglesias, 35, hit free agency after a slightly down season for the Braves in which his ERA rose to 3.21 after posting a 1.95 ERA in 2024. He had an excellent run with the Braves over parts of four seasons as the closer, racking up 97 saves, a 15-12 record and a 2.35 ERA.
A major thing that changed in 2025 for Iglesias was less reliance on his slider and changeup, going from 52% of pitches he threw in 2024 to 38% in 2025. Both pitches were notably less effective by Baseball Savant’s run value number, which puts a run value on every occurrence of throwing a pitch based on its outcome, collectively going from plus-13 runs in 2024 to minus-10 runs in 2025.
Since 2017, when Iglesias became a full-time closer, he’s third in baseball in reliever WAR (11.8) behind only Edwin Diaz and Josh Hader. He is second in saves (247) behind Kenley Jansen.
He spent the first six seasons of his pro career with the Cincinnati Reds, who signed the Cuban-born right-hander in June 2014 as an international free agent. He made his pro debut in 2015 and starred for the Reds before leaving in free agency for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, when he received a four-year, $58 million deal and finished 11th in AL Cy Young Award voting.
The Angels traded him to the Braves at the 2022 trade deadline.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.
