The Diamondbacks announced that they have agreed to a five-year contract extension with right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. It runs from 2026 through 2030 with a club option for 2031 and a mutual option for 2032. Reportedly, he is guaranteed $45MM with the following breakdown: $2MM signing bonus, a $3MM salary in 2026 followed by subsequent salaries of $5MM, $8MM, $11MM and $15MM. Then there’s a $21MM figure on the ’31 club option and a $25MM mutual option in 2032, with each of those options having a $1MM buyout.
He will reportedly have a five-team no-trade from 2030 to 2032. Pfaadt was previously slated for free agency after 2029, so this buys out at least one free agent year and the club option extends the club’s window of control by another season. The deal also reportedly includes a five-team no-trade list covering the 2030-32 seasons. Pfaadt is represented by Frontline.
Pfaadt, 26, was a fifth-round selection of the Diamondbacks in 2020. He quickly raised his stock with some strong minor league numbers. In 2021, he tossed 131 2/3 innings over 22 starts, spread across Single-A, High-A and Double-A. He had a combined 3.21 earned run average, 30.2% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate. In 2022, it was 167 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A with a 3.83 ERA, 31.6% strikeout rate and 4.8% walk rate.
Going into 2023, he was considered one of the top prospects in baseball. He made his major league debut that year with 96 innings over 18 starts and one relief appearance. The 5.72 ERA doesn’t look amazing at first glance but Pfaadt’s 22.3% strikeout rate was around league average with a strong 6.2% walk rate. He held a spot in the rotation through the playoffs, making five postseason starts with a 3.27 ERA as the Diamondbacks took the National League pennant.
2024 was his first full season in the majors and he again performed better than his ERA would tell you. He allowed 4.71 earned run per nine over his 32 starts and 181 2/3 innings. His 24.3% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate were both strong numbers.
At this point, Pfaadt has a 5.06 ERA in 277 2/3 innings but that doesn’t tell the whole story. As mentioned, his strikeout and walk rates have been good. His .315 batting average on balls in play and 66.4% strand rate are both on the unlucky side. His 4.15 FIP and 3.86 SIERA point to him being roughly one run better than his ERA.
The Diamondbacks are presumably putting more stock in those under-the-hood numbers in committing to Pfaadt today. He was previously set to hit the open market after his age-30 season but they have instead locked him up through his age-31 season with a club option for his age-32 campaign as well.
Looking at MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, there have been a few recent extensions for pitchers in their pre-arb years. The top of the list has guys like Spencer Strider at $75MM, Brayan Bello at $55MM and Hunter Greene at $53MM. Those guys were all younger than Pfaadt is now and Greene also had the hype of being a second overall pick and high-profile prospect. Strider was just wrapping up a 2022 season with an insane 38.3% strikeout rate.
Pfaadt’s $45MM deal comes in just a hair under Tanner Bibee’s recent $47.2MM deal. That’s understandable since Bibee has a 3.25 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate in 315 2/3 innings. Those numbers all put him a bit ahead of Pfaadt. He’s also a year closer to free agency, which gives him a bit of extra earning power.
For Pfaadt, he is kicking his free agency down the road, which will presumably lead to less future earning power. However, unlike some top prospects, he hasn’t been sitting on a multi-million-dollar bonus. He only got $100K when he signed and wasn’t slated to qualify for arbitration until after the 2026 season. This deal allows him to lock up some life-changing money ahead of schedule and before his career gets derailed by an injury, an ever-present concern for a pitcher.
For the Diamondbacks, they have been aggressive in locking up their incumbent players. In the past six weeks, they have given notable extensions to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, reliever Justin Martínez and now Pfaadt.
The current rotation in Arizona is overloaded but the long-term picture is more open. For the 2025 season, they have Zac Gallen, Corbin Burnes, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodríguez and Pfaadt in five spots. Ryne Nelson is working in long relief even though he’s talented enough to pitch in the rotation of many other clubs.
But Gallen and Kelly are both impending free agents. Burnes has an opt-out after 2026. Rodríguez is guaranteed through 2027. As the next few years play out, it’s possible that each of those guys eventually leaves Arizona. Pitchers within the system could possibly replace them, with Nelson, Drey Jameson, Yilber Díaz, Cristian Mena and some other arms already in house. As that plays out, the Snakes are surely hoping that Pfaadt can be a constant in their rotation as one group potentially makes way for another.
The club is currently running a franchise-record payroll but has some decent money coming off the books. In addition to the aforementioned pitchers, Jordan Montgomery’s deal expires after 2025. He’s making $22.5MM this year but won’t pitch at all due to Tommy John surgery. Eugenio Suárez is making $15MM this year and also slated for free agency. That will potentially create a hole at third base but it’s possible that prospect Jordan Lawlar could provide a cost-effective replacement. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is only guaranteed through 2026 and Ketel Marte 2027.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported the $45MM guarantee. John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM in Phoenix relayed the option values. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the limited no-trade protection and then the annual salary breakdown. Gambadoro then relayed that the no-trade covered five teams.
Photos courtesy of Joe Rondone and Rob Schumacher, Imagn Images
Buying out arbitration years. Smart if he produces
A lot of money if he doesn’t. How’s the Bello Sox deal looking so far?
It’s peanuts in today’s game. By 2030, that $15 million salary will basically be the going rate for a veteran 5th starter.
“It’s peanuts”..$15M is never “peanuts”. You probably wouldn’t even loan me $20, and yet you call MILLIONS of dollars “peanuts”.
@mlb Alex Cobb got 15 million after only making less than 10 starts, and he’s going to miss half the year again. Your talking about billionaires so it’s peanuts. Sorry your card declined when you got chips and cheese at taco bell
I respectfully disagree as most teams still have budgets and bad decisions could impact other later moves. Look at the Yankees today. While the Snakes will never face the tax penalties the Yankees do, it’s still real money that could when combined with other later contracts as well as other factors determine how they spend their money years from now. A perfect example is the Mets after Madoff. Now, you don’t know how MLB will replace ESPN money, what the regional network lands ape will look like or even the next CBA will mean. Look at Boston and Crochet. Of course Boston wants to extend him but at what price?
How’s the Bello Sox deal looking so far?
=======================
It’s a little early for judgement, but Bello had a 3.47 ERA in the 2nd half last year, with a .629 OPS (albeit with a favorable .270 BABIP).
I’m pretty happy with that.
Joe – all with a 1.166MM salary. That’s not too shabby!
Risk reward. Buying out two free agent years can save a ton of money
he has not produced yet he’s below league average..
Diamondbacks love pissing money away, first Montgomery now this. Ahahahahahaha!
Never say no to your first fortune.
So far he has been terrible. Paying that kind of money for a guy like this? Baseball has some crazy salaries. Get a good agent and you can take them for a ride. No trade clauses included? You overpay a guy and then have to allow for no trade clauses?
Yeah, but they should have waited until Tuesday.
P-Fat getting paid early! Good for him, good pitcher….seriously how do you pronounce his last name? 🙂
Pronounced like “fought”
Wow I would’ve never guess that…thx
Only his mom gets to call him P-Fat.
He would probably say only our mom’s get to call him that lol
More like “faaht”
It’s pronounced Fart in a Boston accent.
That was exactly what I was going for in my post.
Love this trend. Guarantees a young player $45million, generationally changing money. Doesn’t burn the club if he doesn’t perform super well because it’s a lower amount but buys out arbitration years in case he goes off
D-Backs perhaps the most improve team in all of MLB. And I’m not a D-Backs fan. Good for them.
Wild name
You have to adapt.
F!
A small risk for the team and a no brainer for the player. Anyone that throws hard for a living should be looking to lock down some form of guaranteed money before their inevitable pitching injuries kick in.
Exactly. Why fantasize about making 9 figures in five years when there’s a 50% chance he’ll have to get TJ?
Playoff legend. With the help of Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson, he broke the Phillies’s lineup.
He crushed their souls. You had seasoned veterans openly weeping as a result.
Big fan of extensions like these. Player gets life changing money, team gets cost certainty.
Really hope it works great for both sides.
Wow that’s aggressive. Suggests they know they aren’t gonna be able to keep Gallen and Kelly after this season.
Depending on the way this season goes I look for the D’Backs if not in contention to be busy at the deadline with Gallen and Kelly, would not surprise me if both were traded.
Kelly for sure, he’s the least talented (not not talented but less than the others in the rotation).
Kelly’s already 36, with just 73 IP last year. I wouldn’t expect them to do much other than an inexpensive two year deal or just want to go year to year from here on out.
Kelly was hurt most of last yr. He will be 37. How far do you want to go with him? How much do you want to pay him?
Theres nothing better than a solid #2
Depends, how solid?
And very few things are worse than a liquid #2…
Whether or not hes solid its guaranteed after this deal hell be liquid.
Pffffft
These $45M to $65M or so early extensions are really great for the game. I feel like the game has largely forgotten the middle between pre arbitration salaries and record breaking AAV’s or deal lengths and these mid range extensions need to become more common place.
nice offseason for AZ, even if this is technically an in-season move. Pfaadt is a really good pitcher.
I just saw the stupidest trade proposal yet. Some idiot( Must be an Az writer) Suggested the Cubs trade Ben Brown, Alcantara and Connor Noland for Zac Gallen. That made me laugh so hard I almost passed out. Brown is better than Gallen on his own. The Snakes would have to add 4 guys just to for me not to hang up in your ear. Look even Hoyer isn’t THAT stupid. Find something better to do with your time huh guys. Wow!
Those sorts of clickbait articles are everywhere. I keep getting fed stuff like “Predicted trade has Red Sox send Wilyer Abreu to Miami in package for Sandy Alcantara”. Made up trade so they can make a chatgpt article about it.
Let me revise that statement. Hoyer IS that stupid but if he pulled another deal of 3 young players and 2 pitchers for 1 year of another guy I would hope that Ricketts would finally get his head out of his ___ and get rid of him right away.
As an Astros fan, I really appreciate Hoyer. I have no idea if Cam Smith will pan out, but the total package gives the Astros many ways to consider it a good deal.
No, Brown is definitely not better than Gallen.
But Ben Brown isn’t good
Then why would you want him so stop talking nonsense.
You’re the fool saying Brown is better than Gallen. I knew you were an idiot, but I didn’t realize just how dumb you actually are.
Brown has better stuff than Gallen. That’s undeniable. Noland is almost Major League ready. Alcantara is probably also MLB ready. Gallen is only signed through this year. Brown has a ceiling that’s so much higher than Gallen’s it’s not even funny. He just needs to pitch. I’m not saying that Hoyer isn’t capable of gross stupidity, Because he is. Funny that MLB took a poll of GM’s and they agreed that the 6 most improved teams in baseball were not the Chicago Cubs. In fact 2 of them were the Astros who got gifted 3 guys for a rental, And the Red Sox who are run by Craig Breslow who used to be with the Cubs. Not to mention that the Detroit Tigers who are run by Scott Harris were in the Playoffs last year spending less money. So there’s proof that Hoyer is an idiot, Ricketts needs to wake up and stop letting top talent walk out the door. Brown has Ace stuff. Gallen does not, Never has. BTW how dumb are the Snakes for not using Burnes on Opening Day? 200 million bucks for the 5th starter? That might even be dumber than Hoyer. Hoyer should be required to take an EKG before he’s allowed to leave the house to insure at least some brain activity. Sounds like he’d fit right in with AZ.
Brown is better than a guy that is a perennial CY candidate…ok
Yep. Gallen is a legend in your own mind. But not really
Uncle Mikey
Dbacks won’t trade Gallen at all, so the trade scenario you created to clickbait this chain is meaningless.
And when you respond to facts, like that Gallen is a perennial CY candidate, with insults, it just highlights your stupidity.
Pfaadt is often lights out first two times through a lineup, it’s innings 5 and 6 that often get to him. Fix that and he could be a reliable #2/#3 SP.
He’s brutal after 50 pitches, as well. Still, in the overall he had the peripherals of a good #3 SP in 2024. HR suppression was always his main problem and his 1.2/9 mark last season was good enough.
In no small part because he has one great pitch and four crappy ones. I fear he’s a guy who will always underperform his peripherals because the latter are averages. But hitters tee off when they do get to him, so the damage at the bad end of the curve (pun intended) is more destructive and unfortunately sequenced than the predictive models expect.
Sounds like the D’Backs are becoming the Atlanta Brave West with all the extensions of their core players. Now with that said the one they better sign an extension is Gabriel Moreno.
One of the better run teams, to be sure. The Jays would do well to emulate them. Their deal for Giminez and extension with Kirk shows at least some promise.
dude’s gonna be counting Pfaadt stacks for the next few years
He got a Pfaadt guaranteed check with this extension.
You might be seeing the wrong starts. He was lights out in the 2023 postseason.
He came of age in October 2023. Loved watching him battle.
Good job Snakes!
This post is worth an #11thTimeBeingBanned. C’mon, broski…
Obviously a little risk but he has a crapload of talent they are banking on and you get why they’d do it. The team they’ve built in Arizona is really quite impressive especially considering they are in a division with two big spenders and the Dodgers, who are on their own level, yet they are holding their own.
I think we can all agree your credentials are unimpeachable. That said, I would only suggest former MLB pitcher and current Dbacks GM, Mike Hazen, who has seen every MLB pitch Pfaadt has ever thrown, may have keen insights into Pfaadts capabilities unknown to some MLBTR posters.
Only I am unimpeachable!
Agent Orange
You may be thinking of former GM’s Jerry DiPoto or (ugh) Dave Stewart but Hazen didn’t play. But he’s arguably their best ever GM.
Gonzo, thank you for the clarification. I have always mistakenly thought Hazen pitched at the MLB level. He most certainly did not. I agree Hazen is an excellent GM and the Dbacks best ever.
Cool.
Seriously, how does one pronounce his last name?
Fought
“Fought”, I believe.
Fahd. Rhymes with sod.
I agree, I like Pfaadt and it’s cheap considering. So many people on this board are down on Brayan Bello, I am very high on Bello, I think he’s going to be real good. He has a sweet delivery.
I don’t even like Pfaadt and I still think your takes are horrifically low-IQ.
I have been saying the Reds should have done this with some of their young guys. Give the D-Backs credit. Reminds me of the old Indians when they did that with several of their young guys.
I like that the Diamondbacks just made a calculated bet that FIP and SIERA predict future success better than ERA.
The real inefficiency here is how MLB teams evaluate extensions rather than Pfaadt himself. Teams are overpaying for past performance in free agency, yet hesitant to bet aggressively on under-the-radar arms with elite peripherals. If Pfaadt’s stuff truly plays up, Arizona just got a mid-rotation arm at a fifth-starter price. If not, they’ve only locked up a No. 4 for a price that barely moves their payroll needle. This is where real front-office value is being created—buying into undervalued projection models before the market catches up.
We might witness a Shelby Miller pitching to a Dansby Swanson event at the game tonight?!
Nope. Unless Shelby pitches another inning?
It’s happening!
One pitch. Fly out to deep left.
Guess the Dbacks won that trade.
Was Nick Castellenos at bat to interrupt another humble apology
I attended the Dodger game tonight while listening to the Padre game and followed along to the D-Back game here. Great scott!
Gadzooks!
Great googly moogly! Spent Thursday at Sox-Angels game then bad unicorn movie while watching 2 mens March madness games and ladies gm simultaneously then some Laker fans came in and raved about how they witnessed the Bulls miracle ending and half court shot and nobody bothered to shoosh cause movie was so bad think everyone else in auditorium was multitasking- eating, drinking, gaming, texting, sewing, chewing gum doing chores.
I combined “texting and sewing” and read “se×ing and towing” lol
They’ve believed in him all along, so this doesn’t surprise me. I think this is a wise move.
And I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
So they extended fart
Oh my Pfaadt…
Pshaw, we get paid to play a kids game? You had me at contract
Turns out Pfaadt drunk and stupid is way to go through life son
I seem to be the only person who thinks it’s a little odd to lock up someone with a career ERA of 5.06.
Right? Where’s the upside for the team? Oh maybe he gets better, SIERRA and stuff. “Strong”, average, strikeout and walk rates don’t mean much when you’re giving up 5 runs a game
His name is already quite extended.
That’s problematic, Pfaddt is already huge, now he wants to extend. He should lose not gain weight