Originally Posted by
Enscheff
This is another one of those deals where the player leaves some cash on the table in order to get financial security now, while his elbow and shoulder are both still intact. The team saves some money in exchange for taking on more of the injury risk. In Kimbrel's case, this contract is structured such that he went from being a potential salary dump or non-tender candidate after the 2014/2015 season, to a locked up piece of the core of the team.
The Braves are probably overpaying for the closer position towards the end of this deal (considering the downward trajectory closer salaries have taken recently), but it essentially turned a lost asset into a positive asset, so in all it is a very good deal imo.