PHOENIX — If a baseball player is under team control for the next five years anyway, why should his team extend him? If the player thinks he can make more money in arbitration, why sign an extension?
There is evident risk for both sides, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have entered that world with three members of their young core this spring.
The Diamondbacks extended 25-year-old shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, 23-year-old reliever Justin Martinez and 26-year-old starter Brandon Pfaadt with agreements that buy out their arbitration eligibility.
These extensions also give the club control via team options into what would have been the players’ free agency.
“There’s always a balance to how these things get get done,” general manager Mike Hazen said on Friday. “I think when there is shared risk on both sides, that’s when you have the best opportunity to get those things done.”
For the club, these contracts provide certainty within the roster. The D-backs could save money by making deals early with the risk that they are on the hook if a player does not work out. It is a show of faith in the player to continue his development and contribute to winning. Perdomo, Martinez and Pfaadt will have a notable say in how this season goes.
The players, meanwhile, guarantee themselves life-changing money.
“I’m able to go out there and compete every fifth day with the peace of mind and go out there and do my job,” Pfaadt said on Friday. “So I think that had a big play in it. There’s a lot of things we can avoid later on, just move on and and go out there and compete.”
“It means a lot,” Martinez said in Spanish on Monday. “That says a lot to me. This was the team that gave me the opportunity to sign from the Dominican Republic. … It’s our future. I reached out to my parents, and the first thing my mom did was open a bottle of wine.”
"We feel like these things are important for us and the fans to know that guys are going to be here.”
Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen touches on the importance behind inking starter Brandon Pfaadt to a five-year contract extension on Friday. pic.twitter.com/D4npwrDgue
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 28, 2025
Perdomo, who became arbitration eligible this year, agreed to a four-year deal worth $45 million with a club option that would dig three years into his previous free agency.
Martinez after only one full season inked a five-year, $18 million contract with two club options on the end.
Pfaadt most recently — the club announced the extension on Friday — agreed to a five-year contract worth $45 million with a club option and mutual option.
“Like we’ve talked about with a couple of these already, Brandon falls very much in the group of players we have that we feel like, getting some certainty around what the future is going to look like is very important for us in terms of building a roster and keeping this team together for as long as we can,” Hazen said.
“I think the front office has done a great job of getting that commitment from these guys, they’re all in and they’re going to be Diamondbacks for a long time,” manager Torey Lovullo added. “For me, that means we have a core group of guys we’ve identified as the right people, and they’re going to continue sharing and enriching this culture.”
Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen explains the team extended 23-year-old reliever Justin Martinez because they have a strong belief in who he is.
"It makes it easy to bet on." pic.twitter.com/HJJcjYrHeM
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 24, 2025
Diamondbacks have had success taking care of their own
In 2018, the Diamondbacks placed their faith in a then-24-year-old Ketel Marte with a five-year extension after his first year in the Valley. Marte secured a second extension in 2022 after an injury-impacted campaign, and the 2024 MVP finalist will make less than $20 million this upcoming season.
In 2023, the Diamondbacks entrusted a 22-year-old prospect Corbin Carroll with an eight-year contract going into his rookie season. His salary will increase to $14.6 million in what would have been his final year of arbitration eligibility before it jumps to $28.6 million.
Carroll won the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year and overcame a tough start to 2024 to finish strong. Expectations are he will return to his All-Star status.
Around the league this season, Juan Soto is making $62 million, Aaron Judge $40 million, Mike Trout $37 million and Jose Altuve $33 million. To compare, the D-backs have a $28 million option on Carroll when he’s 30 years old in 2031. The deal was risky with potential for tremendous value.
Not every team has Los Angeles Dodgers money to throw around. The Atlanta Braves famously took a similar approach by extending emerging stars Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider and Austin Riley, among others and have had great success.
The Diamondbacks know their own players better than anyone they could target in free agency, and Hazen made the point that these agreements show fans their commitment to keeping this core together.
“I do feel like we’ll continue to make every effort to identify those guys,” Hazen said on Monday. “That’s what we think is smart and responsible for the organization to build this group together.
“I want to be able to keep this group together. I like this group of players. They mesh very well. … We’re going to try to continue to do these things when we can, because we think long-term, it’s the smart way for us to build an organization, not just a team.”
Which begs the question, is there someone next?
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