Former star closer signs with NL contender, gets another chance to resurrect career
Ken Giles is getting another chance to resurrect his career by signing a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves with an invitation to spring training on Friday.
The former star closer will make $1.75M if he makes it back to the majors with the club, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman.
It's been a long road back to the mound for Giles, who has been severely limited over the past four years due to a litany of injuries.
Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game shared footage of a recent workout that showed the righty routinely hitting the mid-90s on his fastball.
Giles was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the seventh round of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft and spent two seasons with the team in 2014 and 2015. Giles was traded to the Houston Astros in December 2015 and had the best season of his career in 2017, finishing tied for second in the American League in games finished (career-high 55) and tied for fourth in saves (career-high 34).
He earned a World Series ring with the Astros that season despite struggling mightily in the playoffs. Giles finished that year's postseason with an 0-2 record, 11.74 ERA and 2.21 WHIP over 7 2/3 innings pitched.
He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in July 2018 and played two-plus seasons north of the border before his injury issues began.
Giles missed all of the 2021 campaign with the Seattle Mariners after his Tommy John surgery and began the 2022 season on the injured list with a right middle finger sprain that he suffered in spring training. He was designated for assignment that August and joined the San Francisco Giants' minor league system before being released.
More must-reads: