Joe Thatcher Agrees to 1-Year Deal, Arbitration Avoided

The Diamondbacks have announced today that LHP Joe Thatcher has agreed to a one-year deal with the team, thus avoiding the messy process of arbitration once again. The deal is reportedly worth $2.375 Million

Thatcher was acquired last season from San Diego in the Ian Kennedy deal. A LOOGY out of the bullpen, he did not have great numbers in Arizona, albeit in a small sample size, with a 6.75 ERA in 9.1 innings pitched in Arizona. Prior to the trade he put up a 2.10 ERA in 30.0 innings pitched in San Diego in 2013.

This means that there are two more arbitration candidates left for the Diamondbacks, Mark Trumbo and Gerardo Parra. Today is the deadline for teams and players to exchange arbitration figures. However, that does not preclude teams and players from coming to contract deals before arbitration hearings start on February 1st. Considering Diamondbacks history, it would be a pretty good assumption that those two will come to deals before any hearings, but they may not. Stay tuned!