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Braves get LH reliever Jonny Venters from Rays

The Atlanta Braves picked up a bullpen arm when they brought back left-hander Jonny Venters in a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Venters, 33, who started his career in Atlanta, was acquired in exchange for an international signing slot.

He is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 innings pitched this season, striking out 11 and walking six.

Venters pitched for the Braves from 2010 to 2012, striking out 258 batters in 229 2/3 innings as part of a dominant lefty-righty tandem with Craig Kimbrel.

But he missed the next five seasons, as he went through his second and third Tommy John surgeries -- the first came in 2005 during Class A ball -- as well as an additional surgery on his elbow.