*Photo from MassLive*
The Arizona Diamondbacks have avoided arbitration with SS Nick Ahmed, according to the team. The deal to avoid arbitration with Ahmed is a 4 year, $32.5 million deal. There are performance bonuses included in Ahmed's deal, based on all star selections, gold glove wins, and days active. Ahmed is a previous gold glove winner at shortstop. Ahmed's arbitration hearing was scheduled for Wednesday. Ahmed requested $6.95 million for 2020, while the D-Backs offered $6.6 million. Ahmed was set to become a free agent next winter, but instead he'll become a free agent after the 2023 season.
Ahmed said of staying in Arizona longer that "I’m really excited, to see what we did last year, what felt like a young team that kind of flew under the radar, see everything the front office has done this offseason to help us continue to get better was something that was really attractive to me. To be able to continue to play here and chase a championship in Arizona is going to be awesome." Ahmed said of choosing to stay in Arizona that "I don’t know if I would have been able to be comfortable making a decision knowing the state of the team at the beginning of the offseason, just seeing what Mike Hazen and company have done to help improve our roster and improve our chances, not only this year but for multiple years to come, is very attractive. It definitely helped and helped me make the decision, for sure."
Hazen, who is the D-Backs GM, said of Ahmed that "He’s the best defensive shortstop in baseball, we just felt like what he does for our team, having him in our clubhouse for four years, having his leadership, having him sort of anchor that infield that we can build around and position around from there, those were all important factors to us. I would say it starts with his preparation. I don’t think there’s anybody more dedicated to getting the most out of their ability than Nick is. I believe in a clubhouse environment where we’re together for six to seven straight months that that is noticed by his teammates. We’ve seen a steady commitment to an approach that we felt like, working with him, has really moved him forward as an offensive player."
Ahmed is a two time gold glove winner at shortstop, winning the gold glove in 2018 and 2019. In 2018 and 2019, he saved 39 runs over those two seasons, one of the best marks in baseball. He also led the majors with 29 outs above average(OAA) in 2018 and had 16 in 2019, tied for 3rd in the league. His bat has been good too, but it's not as good as his defense. Ahmed hit .254 with 19 homers and 82 RBI for the D-Backs last season in 158 games played. In his career, Ahmed is a .236 hitter with 55 homers and 231 RBI in 6 seasons, all with the D-Backs.
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