Vinny Castilla, the third baseman who resurrected his career with Houston last summer, has agreed to terms on a two-year, $8 million deal with Atlanta.

Vinny Castilla brought his career back to life last year with the Astros.(Allsport)

The interesting ripple effect of the deal is that All-Star Chipper Jones will move to left field in what will be a newly reconfigured Braves lineup.

"We've always had high regard for Castilla," Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz said. "When he joined the Astros earlier this year, he demonstrated the ability offensively and defensively to play on a playoff-caliber team."

Castilla, a two-time All Star and three-time Silver Slugger award recipient while with Colorado in the 1990s, was released by Tampa Bay in 2001 after batting just .201 with two homers and nine RBI in 24 games. In 146 games after signing with the Astros, though, Castilla batted .270 with 23 homers and 82 RBI in 122 games.

Castilla's bat helped Houston win the NL Central and advance to the playoffs, where they knocked off Atlanta in the first round.

One of the Braves' offseason goals was to improve a lethargic offense that ranked tied for ninth in the NL in 2001. The Castilla signing will be the Braves' first move toward adding a bat this winter (not counting the contract extension of center fielder Andruw Jones). They already re-signed closer John Smoltz last week.

As for Jones, he said at the end of the season that he would move to the outfield if it meant that the Braves could help their offense. With Castilla and the Braves' current alignment, Atlanta's outfield now likely will be Chipper Jones in left, Andruw Jones in center and Brian Jordan in right.

Houston did not offer arbitration to Castilla, so the signing does not cost Atlanta a draft choice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report