D-backs avoid arbitration, agree to two-year contract with Josh Collmenter

Collmenter, who turns 29 on Feb. 7, was the first Arizona reliever to lead the NL in innings pitched (92.0) in 2013, going 5-5 with a 3.13 ERA (32 ER) in 49 games. He also paced the NL with a club-record 9 relief appearances of at least 3.0 innings, while his 29.0 innings in extra frames were the most in Major League Baseball since Tug McGraw's 29.0 in 1972. Collmenter has gone 20-18 with a 3.40 ERA (127 ER in 336.2 IP) in 108 games (35 starts) in three seasons with the D-backs. He was selected by Arizona in the 15th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, and earned the win in Game 3 of the 2011 NLDS vs. Brewers (1 ER in 7.0 IP).

Well, that was quick. Seems only yesterday, Josh was putting in for arbitration - oh, hang on, it was only yesterday. But now, he's locked up for the first two years of the process, with options not just for the third year, but the first of Collmenter's free agency. No details of the details are available at present, but I've got a feeling it'll be fairly team-friendly. Middle relievers tend not to earn much in arbitration, good though Collmenter was last season - indeed, I'd go as far as "invaluable," considering how many extra-inning games we played.

That leaves three Diamondbacks still eligible for arbitration: Mark Trumbo, Gerardo Parra and Joe Thatcher. Wonder how long it might be before we get them taken care of as well?

[Update, H/T blank_38] Per Ken Rosenthal on Twitter, it's a total of $2.425M for 2014 and 2015, with one club option and one mutual option beyond that, and "could be worth as much as $6.5 million if both options are exercised." Very reasonable.