Braves sign Jason Motte to minor-league deal

The Braves have agreed to a minor-league contract with reliever Jason Motte, per a team announcement. He will report to Triple-A Gwinnett today.

Motte, who turns 35 in June, hit free agency after being designated for assignment and subsequently released by the Rockies at the end of spring training. The veteran was squeezed out of Colorado’s bullpen mix by the additions of relievers Mike Dunn and Greg Holland during the offseason.

Motte joins David Hernandez as veteran relievers to join the Braves’ organization at Triple-A since the end of March, giving the club some experienced options behind righties Josh Collmenter, Chaz Roe and Jose Ramirez in front of Arodys Vizcaino and Jim Johnson. Both Motte and Hernandez are likely to make an impact at the major-league level at some point during the year, as the Braves’ current bullpen has posted a 5.79 ERA over the club’s first six games.

Motte, a veteran of eight major-league seasons, owns a career 26-15 record and 3.28 ERA with the Cardinals (2008-14), Cubs (2015) and Rockies (2016). After signing a two-year, $10 million deal with Colorado before last year, he posted a 4.94 ERA in 23.2 innings of work while dealing with a rotator cuff injury.