After a disappointing end to the 2008 season, it's been a quiet winter for the Arizona Diamondbacks. With a stockpile of young talent and rumors that the team it looking to cut payroll, they've largely stood pat, content to bank on that young core to keep them in contention next year and into the next decade.They took a key step toward keeping that core intact Tuesday, agreeing to a three-year, $14.25 million contract extension with starting catcher Chris Snyder, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. The deal also includes a club option for a fourth year that could raise the total value of the pact to more than $20 million.
Snyder is often overlooked, both alongside the other top young catchers in the game, like Joe Mauer and Brian McCann, and alongside the impressive young talent on Arizona's roster, but he's turned into one of the better backstops around. Even in a year in which he hit .237, Snyder still managed to post a .348 on-base percentage and career highs in home runs, extra-base hits and RBI in 2008, and, at 27, he's just entering his prime.
Considering all of the speculation that the D'backs are strapped for cash, this is a very good deal indeed for them. According to Dave Cameron's Value Wins metric (which is all the rage on the interwebs these days), Snyder has settled in as a 2-to-3-win player over the last two years, making him more of a $10-million-a-year player than the $5 million and change he'll earn annually over the life of his contract if Arizona picks up its option on him in 2012.
There's another potential positive that could come out of this deal. With Snyder locked up, the Snakes can now officially put backup Miguel Montero on the trade market. Montero is a year away from arbitration, meaning he's about to get a lot more expensive, and many teams see him as capable of manning the position full-time.
With a dearth of catching available this winter, especially of the good and young variety, Arizona could swap him for a package of players who could help paper over some of the more glaring holes the club has accumulated both in the lineup and on the pitching staff this winter.
