The Diamondbacks announced they have agreed to a four-year contract through 2016 with infielder/outfielder Martin Prado. The deal will pay Prado $40MM in total, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 29-year-old is represented by the Legacy Agency.
Prado was in his third and final winter of arbitration eligibility and was set to hit the open market after the 2013 season. Arizona acquired Prado and four other players from the Braves for Justin Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson earlier this month. We heard last week that General Manager Kevin Towers & Co. were optimistic about agreeing to a new three or four-year deal with the veteran.
In 2012, Prado posted a .301/.359/.438 slash line with ten homers in 690 plate appearances for Atlanta. For his career, Prado has hit .295/.345/.435 across seven seasons for the Braves.
The Braves reportedly had a strong sense that 2012 would be his final season with them as he was pushing for a new contract with a $12MM average annual value. This four-year pact with the Diamondbacks gives him a considerable raise over his $4.75MM salary and comes a lot closer to the type of salary he had in mind.
