D-backs lock up Prado to four-year extension

[Dback Jon]

The D-backs acquired Martin Prado as the centerpiece of the Justin Upton trade with the expectation that they could lock him up with a long-term contract extension. They took care of that Thursday, as Prado agreed to a four-year contract through 2016.

The agreement will also keep Prado and the D-backs from going to an arbitration hearing in February. Prado's new contract is worth $40 million, according to Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network and FOXSports.com.

Prado, 29, would have been eligible for free agency after the 2013 season. He came to Arizona along with pitchers Randall Delgado and Zeke Spruill, shortstop Nick Ahmed and first baseman Brandon Drury in exchange for Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson.


http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com...31&content_id=41283586&vkey=news_ari&c_id=ari

 

[az jam]

Good news, very important part of the big trade was to get Prado to extend his contract.

 

[AZ Native]

That was crucial. Good job!

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

So the Diamondbacks gave up Justin Upton for the right to pay free agent level money to a good but unspectacular player. Yeah ok.

 

[SunsTzu]

So the Diamondbacks gave up Justin Upton for the right to pay free agent level money to a good but unspectacular player. Yeah ok.

But he has grit, and grit is the new moxie.

 

[AZ Native]

So the Diamondbacks gave up Justin Upton for the right to pay free agent level money to a good but unspectacular player. Yeah ok.

It was a good move.

 

[BC867]

It was a good move.

Even if it was a bad move to trade Upton, it reached the point where it had to be.

The fault is the Diamondbacks front office trying to turn JUp into the "face of the organization" when he was far too young to handle the responsibility.

But they had lost Gonzo, then made a horrible mistake trying to achieve it with the flaky Eric Byrnes. They were desperate and look how it ruined Upton.

I don't think highly of ballplayers who don't live up to their potential. But, in this case, it was Kendrick who made a bad decision and, when he publicly laid the blame on Upton, it was all she wrote. A trade was the only solution and the rest of baseball knew it.

 

[Dback Jon]

Not sure why you need a "FACE of the Franchise"


I go to see the Dbacks play (and hopefully win).

 

[WildBB]

Not sure why you need a "FACE of the Franchise"


I go to see the Dbacks play (and hopefully win).

This.

W's > Face.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Well we will see if Goldschmidt can handle that pressure

 

[az240zz]

Not sure why you need a "FACE of the Franchise"


I go to see the Dbacks play (and hopefully win).

this

 

[BC867]

Not sure why you need a "FACE of the Franchise"

I go to see the Dbacks play (and hopefully win).

Sure you are! The general public doesn't follow their teams as closely as ASFN posters do.

Marketing is always going to be part of the entertainment business, of which sports -- pro or college -- is a sub-division. As obnoxious as it gets sometime, marketing drives the economy.

I would never buy a greasy Jack-In-The-Box burger, but I love their commercials. My favorite of all-time? "You may now eat the bride." I still crack up whenever I think of it. Oops! Jack-In-The-what?

BTW, I don't need a face of the franchise. But the D'backs felt they did. As I mentioned, who could have been a worse selection than Eric Byrnes?

 

[Dback Jon]

Sure you are! The general public doesn't follow their teams as closely as ASFN posters do.

Marketing is always going to be part of the entertainment business, of which sports -- pro or college -- is a sub-division. As obnoxious as it gets sometime, marketing drives the economy.

I would never buy a greasy Jack-In-The-Box burger, but I love their commercials. My favorite of all-time? "You may now eat the bride." I still crack up whenever I think of it. Oops! Jack-In-The-what?

BTW, I don't need a face of the franchise. But the D'backs felt they did. As I mentioned, who could have been a worse selection than Eric Byrnes?

Then the Dbacks are selling the public short. Sure, it is good to have recognizable faces that people talk about - a Charles Barkley is worth his weight in gold, because he gets people that have a casual interest in a sport, interested. But most sports fans don't need that.

And picking the wrong "face" is worse than no face at all. Since the Dbacks seem to be intent on remaking the team in Gibby's image, he should be the face of the club.

 

[BC867]

Then the Dbacks are selling the public short. Sure, it is good to have recognizable faces that people talk about - a Charles Barkley is worth his weight in gold, because he gets people that have a casual interest in a sport, interested. But most sports fans don't need that.

And picking the wrong "face" is worse than no face at all. Since the Dbacks seem to be intent on remaking the team in Gibby's image, he should be the face of the club.

I agree! Except the part about most sports fans not wanting players singled out as the "face" of their favorite team.

I like your point about Gibby, but he is not out there performing, except when he goes after an umpire or drags his aging body out to the mound to make a pitching change.

The whole idea of paying sports figures and entertainers millions of dollars while the rest of us struggle to make ends meet is to take our minds off our troubles.

We pay dearly for that diversion and expect our heros to be larger than life. So do the sponsors who pay a lot of money so we can watch the games on TV every day. As I mentioned, in the real world you can't discount the importance of marketing in the business of baseball.

 

[TJ]

Charles Barkley is worth his weight in gold .

that's a lot of gold


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[BC867]

Charles Barkley is worth his weight in gold.

that's a lot of gold

The round mound of ore.

 

[sundevil04]

10 mil a year for Prado, a 3b with zero power??? No thank you. Is he real that much of an upgrade over a platoon of Chavez and Chris Johnson for a year while we wait for Matt Davidson?

 

[overseascardfan]

10 mil a year for Prado, a 3b with zero power??? No thank you. Is he real that much of an upgrade over a platoon of Chavez and Chris Johnson for a year while we wait for Matt Davidson?

Well either ARZ plans on dealing Davidson or shift him to the OF if they decide to move Kubel. Prado is not going to hit more than 20 HR's so ARZ seems to be banking on him hitting .300 and getting on base (likely the #2 hitter in the lineup as he was in ATL), not really what you'd naturally want from a power position like 3B. But it looks like ARZ is really trying to embrace the contact hitting mentality instead of the all or nothing strikeout type hitter.

 

[AZ Native]

Well either ARZ plans on dealing Davidson or shift him to the OF if they decide to move Kubel. Prado is not going to hit more than 20 HR's so ARZ seems to be banking on him hitting .300 and getting on base (likely the #2 hitter in the lineup as he was in ATL), not really what you'd naturally want from a power position like 3B. But it looks like ARZ is really trying to embrace the contact hitting mentality instead of the all or nothing strikeout type hitter.

Isn't that what most on this board were calling for last year?

 

[Lefty]

Well either ARZ plans on dealing Davidson or shift him to the OF if they decide to move Kubel. Prado is not going to hit more than 20 HR's so ARZ seems to be banking on him hitting .300 and getting on base (likely the #2 hitter in the lineup as he was in ATL), not really what you'd naturally want from a power position like 3B. But it looks like ARZ is really trying to embrace the contact hitting mentality instead of the all or nothing strikeout type hitter.

Do you really believe Towers can make a decent trade? I have no faith and I would rather have Josh Byrnes in charge, and I was not a fan of JB.

 

[Matt L]

Well either ARZ plans on dealing Davidson or shift him to the OF if they decide to move Kubel. Prado is not going to hit more than 20 HR's so ARZ seems to be banking on him hitting .300 and getting on base (likely the #2 hitter in the lineup as he was in ATL), not really what you'd naturally want from a power position like 3B. But it looks like ARZ is really trying to embrace the contact hitting mentality instead of the all or nothing strikeout type hitter.

Prado can play multiple positions so if Davidson can play good defense at 3b and can also rake they can move Prado to LF or 2B depending on the rest of the roster.

 

[overseascardfan]

Prado can play multiple positions so if Davidson can play good defense at 3b and can also rake they can move Prado to LF or 2B depending on the rest of the roster.

So Prado would replace Kubel who is signed for 2 more years or Aaron Hill who is signed for 3 more years. If Davidson ends up being that good and with Kubel making $7M a year and Hill making around $7M as well someone is going to be a very expensive platoon player if Prado replaces someone in the lineup unless a deal is made. I think someone will be traded before ARZ decides to keep all 4 players, just a hunch.

 

[overseascardfan]

Do you really believe Towers can make a decent trade? I have no faith and I would rather have Josh Byrnes in charge, and I was not a fan of JB.

I don't like that Towers sold low on both Upton & Bauer but if he can flip a piece from the Upton deal and land Porcello so that the Upton deal ultimately ends up Delgado, Porcello, scrubs for Upton then it would lessen the sting by getting 2 young SP's for a guy that is gone in 2 years.

I actually like the Bell, McCarthy and Chavez deals made by Towers. Small moves that will help IMO next year. I know people are saying Bell sucks for what he is making but him, Hernandez and Putz look like one hell of a 7-8-9 combination on paper.