Ahmed gets extension
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Nick Ahmed have agreed to a four-year, $32.5 million contract extension for the shortstop. He hit 19 homers last year.
The Diamondbacks’ active offseason didn’t just help them improve their team for 2020. It helped them lock up one of their core players into the future.
Shortstop Nick Ahmed said Monday his decision to sign a four-year, $32.5 million extension with the Diamondbacks was made easier by the moves they made this winter, including their five-year agreement with left-hander Madison Bumgarner.
“One hundred percent,” Ahmed said. “I don’t know if I would have been able to be comfortable making a decision knowing the state of the team at the beginning of the offseason.
“Just seeing what (General Manager) Mike Hazen and company have done to help improve our roster and improve our chances, not only this year but for multiple years to come, is very attractive. It definitely helped and helped me make the decision, for sure.”
Ahmed has played no small part in the club’s success in recent years. He has won back-to-back National League Gold Glove awards at shortstop, and while he had long been viewed as a glove-only type, he has worked hard to turn himself into a more capable hitter in recent years.
Last year, he posted career bests in several offensive categories, including average (.254), on-base (.316), slugging (.437) and home runs (19). He accumulated 4.5 WAR (wins above replacement), per Baseball-Reference, making him the seventh-most valuable shortstop in the majors.
“We believe in him as an offensive player and a defensive player,” Hazen said. “I think sometimes he gets overshadowed as an offensive player because his defense is so elite . ... ”