"Two days after agreeing to terms with the Braves on a five-year, $62 million contract extension, slugger Dan Uggla passed a physical Thursday and the deal was announced by general manager Frank Wren, who seemed as happy as his now-wealthy second baseman.

"We're thrilled to get this done," said Wren, seated next to Uggla and manager Fredi Gonzalez at a news conference at Turner Field. "Like I've said, this gives us that big right-handed bat that we've been looking for for a long time to anchor the middle of our lineup."

The $12.4 million average annual value of Uggla's contract is the highest in major league history for a second baseman, surpassing the $12.14 million average hauled in by Philadelphia's Chase Utley in a seven-year, $85 million contract.

"It's life-changing for my family - everybody is going to be taken care of now," said Uggla, who was raised a Braves fan in Columbia, Tenn., outside Nashville. "That's the most important thing for me, and being close to home. So it's a very exciting day for the Uggla family."

Uggla, who'll be 31 in March, averaged nearly 31 home runs and 93 RBIs in five seasons with the Florida Marlins, including career-highs of 33 homers and 105 RBIs in 2010. The Braves acquired him two months ago in a trade for infielder Omar Infante and left-handed pitcher Mike Dunn."