Sunday, February 10, 2013
Goldschmidt holding off on extension
By Jason A. Churchill
Last week, the Arizona Diamondbacks signed second baseman Aaron Hill to a three-year contract extension that will keep the veteran in the desert through the 2016 season. Hill joins third baseman Martin Prado, who signed a four-year deal last month, as two foundation pieces for the Diamondbacks' infield moving forward. But one player doesn't seem to be all that eager to follow suit.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt" is under club for the next handful of years, but as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes, the 25-year-old wasn't interested in discussing any long-term deal at the moment.
Beyond that, it's still unclear who will be the shortstop in both the short- and long-term. The club acquired both veteran Cliff Pennington and prospect Didi Gregorius earlier this offseason, and it appears those two will be in a spring competition for the job. Pennington's MLB experience may give him the inside track, but the D-backs clearly like Gregorius; they traded former first-round pick Trevor Bauer to get him. After those two, there's still another pair of shortstop prospects in Chris Owings and Nick Ahmed, the latter also another trade acquisition this winter as part of the Justin Upton deal with the Atlanta Braves.
At catcher, Miguel Montero is signed long term and will be the starter, so Arizona has clear answers at four of the five positions on the infield diamond. The only questions, then, are which of the shortstops will emerge and whether Goldschmidt will reconsider an extension to keep him around beyond the 2017 season.
