FRIDAY: SI.com’s Jon Heyman expects the D’Backs to attempt an extension with Dan Haren once they complete Webb’s. Heyman says Haren "won’t get Webb money, but he’ll get a significant raise on a deal that will likely be another Desert Discount."
THURSDAY: When you have one of the top three pitchers in baseball, you’ve got to lock him down. Especially if you’re the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team rife with young talent that could keep the team successful for years to come. The team has been talking with ace Brandon Webb about an extension to his deal, which essentially runs through 2010. They’re not quite there yet, but things are looking positive.
"Yeah, some progress has been made," Webb said. "We’ve been talking a little bit more. We’ve made some headway. We’ll see where it goes."
Webb, who has won the Cy Young and finished second in voting in the past two years, is set to earn $5.5MM this year and $6.5MM in 2009, with a 2010 team option for $8.5MM which, barring injury, will surely be exercised. As far as I can tell, 2010 represents the first year he would be eligible for free agency — he had 4.158 years of service time after the 2007 season (four years, 158 days).
Word is that the D’Backs are looking to add at least three years to that deal. At what price, though? AZ Central notes two excellent deals for comparison: Johan Santana’s $22MM salary, and Jake Peavy’s $17.3MM take home pay. My guess is that a deal would be geared more towards the latter.
The D’Backs tried to get a deal done early last off-season, but were rebuffed by Webb. I would guess, then, that the team is ready to fork over the dollars at this point. Webb is off to another superb start, sitting on a 7-0 record with a 2.49 ERA.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.
