Stephen Drew agreed to a one-year contract worth $3.4 million. The former
first-round pick was in the final season of a five-year, $7.5 million deal
signed after his selection in the draft. 2009 was a down season for Drew,
however, which likely led to him accepting a lower total than had he become
arbitration-eligible after his terrific 2008 season.
Aaron Heilman, recently acquired in a trade with the Cubs, agreed to a one-year,
$2.16 million deal. This was his final season of arbitration-eligibility
before becoming free agent-eligible next winter. He made $1.625 million
lat year.
This will also be closer Chad Qualls' final year before free agent eligibility.
He agreed to a one-year deal worth $4.185 million after having made $2.535
million last year. Becoming Arizona's primary closer for the 2009 season
raised Qualls' price tag beyond what it woul dhave been had he remained a middle
reliever.
Edwin Jackson remains unsigned. His agent, Scott Boras, has exchanged
desired salary figures with the D-backs and have will enter an arbitration
hearing in February unless the two sides can close the gap between those
numbers. Jackson made $2.2 million in 2009, his first arbitration-eligible
season. He will be looking for a big raise this year after a season in
which he set career-bests in virtually every category.
The Diamondbacks have never gone to an arbitration hearing during general
manager Josh Byrnes' tenure, however.
"Arbitration is an involved process," Byrnes told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. "We
got all but one done so far, and we'll keep working on that one and see what
happens."
The Diamondbacks opted to trade Max Scherzer, who will not become
arbitration-eligible until next winter at the earliest, to get Jackson, who will
be free-agent eligible after the 2011 season.
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