:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/25483543/180853936.0.jpg)
Just agreed to an extension with the @Dbacks! Really excited to stay in Arizona for a couple more years, at least!
— Brad Ziegler (@BradZiegler) December 20, 2013
Considering Ziegler found out he'd been traded to the Diamondbacks on Twitter, I think it's kinda cool that he got to break the news of his own extension through the same medium! 2014 would have been Ziegler's fourth year of arbitration, since he qualified as a "super two" player in 2011, giving him an extra year there. He earned $3.15 million last season, and the breakdown of the new deal was announced by Ken Rosenthal shortly thereafter:
Correction on Ziegler breakdown with #DBacks: $4.5M, $5M, $1M buyout or $5.5M option. That’s $10.5M guaranteed.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 20, 2013
That seems like a bargain, considering MLB Trade Rumors expected a $5 million settlement for Ziegler in arbitration next year, and is certainly fully deserved. In 178 games and 162.1 innings for the Diamondbacks, Ziegler has a 2.27 ERA. That works out to a 174 ERA+ which is the best all-time by any Arizona pitcher with fifty-plus innings for the team. Alternatively, over the past three seasons, Ziegler is in the top ten major-league relievers by ERA+, with 100 or more innings of work in that time. Really, you could argue that the deal of Ziegler, getting him in exchange for Brandon Allen and Jordan Norberto, is among Kevin Towers'' best.