Warriors announce they have re-signed free agent Raisel Iglesias One-year deal for $16. The PRIME client returns to Atlanta for a fifth season with a 2025 salary.
As is often the case with Warriors transfers, this signing was unexpected. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos suggested during the general manager meeting that the team focus more on resolving shortstop issues and upgrading the starting rotation while putting the bullpen on the back burner. That has clearly changed with the retention of Iglesias, who remains a high-end reliever entering his age-36 season.
The 11-year veteran has a 2.35 ERA in 218 2/3 innings since the Braves acquired him from the Angels at the 2022 trade deadline. He ranks fourth in MLB with 113 saves since the start of the season. Iglesias posted an ERA below 3.00 each season from 2020-24 and is one of the most consistent closers in the league.
It seems likely that things will go off the rails in early 2025. Iglesias gave up an early-season home run, including five long balls in April alone. He surrendered seven shuttlers before the end of May and posted a 5.91 ERA in the first two months. That transition changed over the summer, with Iglesias becoming one of the league’s best late-game players starting in early June. Over the final four months of the season, he pitched 46 innings with a 1.96 ERA and a 29.3% strikeout rate. Although Iglesias had a fly ball rate of 54.5%, he only gave up one home run in that span.
There will be more to come.
