The Arizona Diamondbacks extended Nick Ahmed for four years and $32.5 million with an opportunity to earn more with bonuses.
This was important for the Arizona Diamondbacks as Nick Ahmed was entering his final year of arbitration and was set to be a free agent next season.
With rising star Ketel Marte signed through 2022, this ensures the Diamondbacks young middle infield core will still be together for a few more years. The addition of Starling Marte will allow Ketel Marte to be a constant presence in the middle of the infield with Ahmed.
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Ahmed has been one of the better defensive shortstops for the last few years as he ranked second over the last three seasons in defensive runs saved with 42. He only trails Andrelton Simmons of the Los Angeles Angels. He has also won the Gold Glove award for the past two years at the position.
Ahmed’s career numbers, all with the D-backs, are as follows: .236/.289/.387 with 55 home runs and 231 RBI’s. While those numbers aren’t overwhelming at first glance, what he did last season does. He slashed career highs in 2019 at .254/.316/.437 and set career highs with 19 home runs and 82 RBI’s.
If Ahmed can continue that trend of improving at the plate, he will be invaluable. He is already invaluable in the field defensively and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
The D-backs were one of the more active teams this off-season as they set out to improve upon a roster which surprised many people when they finished 2019 at 85-77. Despite finishing so well, they were still well behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Unfortunately, the gap between the two teams is now larger with the Dodgers acquiring Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox. With all of the moves the D-backs did make, look for them to make noise in 2020 and they may surprise some more people.