The Braves have a clear company line on talent: Cut the nonsense and lock it down early.
They have already signed Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley long-term, voiding a ton of team control in the process in lieu of big-time contracts that will keep their home-grown players around. The Braves continued that trend Tuesday, signing budding star center fielder Michael Harris II to an eight-year, $72 million with two team options that could bring it up 10 years, $102 million.
It's the third-largest contract for a player with under a year of service time, trailing only Acuña $100 million and the Rays' Wander Franco ($182 million).