John Smoltz, former pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, will no longer be a Brave. He has been traded to the Boston Red Sox, as of Thursday, January 8. Smoltz played for the Braves for his entire career so far and even commented that he felt he might be playing for them for the rest of his career as well. As it turns out, all that has changed due to a bigger offer.

The Red Sox offered Smoltz a one year contract for a total of $5.5 million dollars with an option to earn about $5 million extra in incentives, so long as he passes a physical. The physical is slated due to the major shoulder surgery Smoltz had in June of last year. Smoltz has been taking it easy since, and it currently isunknown whether he will return and rebound back to his previous playing skill.

Atlanta only offered Smoltz a contract for a little more than $2 million dollars, which is understandable seeing as they had a few pitching injuries last year and were unclear as to the foreseeable future.

Terry McGuirk, Atlanta’s chief operating officer, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was “shocked and surprised” by Smoltz’s decision. McGuirk said that Atlanta’s offer included incentives that would have enabled Smoltz to earn about $10 million if he pitched capably.

The key apparently was the last few words in that statement; “if he pitched capably”. The Red Sox offered Smoltz more guaranteed money up front, meaning that even if he doesn’t perform well this season he still receives quite a big handful of cash. Obviously Smoltz liked the Sox offer better and took the bait.

Let’s hope for the sake of the Red Sox that Smoltz performs just as well as he has in the past if not better.

As for the Braves, they are currently fighting for a new pitcher that can keep up with the times.

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