Furcal, Kolb, Reitsma avoid arbitration

Furcal, Kolb, Reitsma avoid arbitration

Rafael Furcal got a nearly $2 million raise and new closer Dan Kolb more than doubled his salary, as three of five arbitration-eligible Braves signed new contracts Monday.
Reliever Chris Reitsma also signed, leaving only second baseman Marcus Giles and reliever Kevin Gryboski without deals. Both could sign by today, when teams swap salary figures with any remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players. Furcal signed a one-year, $5.6 million deal, after making $3.7 million in 2004 and batting .279 with 14 home runs, 59 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. After the season, he served 21 days in jail for his second drunken-driving offense and probation violation.

Kolb got a one-year, $3.4 million deal, after making $1.5 million in an All-Star season with Milwaukee and recording a franchise-record 39 saves for a team that won 67 games. The Braves traded top pitching prospect Jose Capellan to the Brewers to get Kolb, 29, which will allow them to move John Smoltz back to the starting rotation.

Reitsma got a bump in pay to $1.65 million, after making $950,000 last season and going 6-4 with a 4.07 ERA in a franchise-record 84 appearances. He faded down the stretch with a 7.71 ERA in 15 appearances after August.

Furcal can be a free agent after the 2005 season, and the Braves have had discussions with him regarding a multi-year contract. That remains a possibility, but the team wanted to at least get him and the others signed to one-year deals to avoid swapping arbitration salary figures.