Sources: D-Backs mull deal with rookie Carroll
The Arizona Diamondbacks view rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll as a centerpiece of their future. The club is taking a stab at making that official.
Sources say the Diamondbacks have engaged Carroll in conversations about a long-term contract, a deal that would lock up their top prospect well into the future.
Details about the negotiations are not known and a deal does not appear imminent, a source said.
For the team, a long-term deal likely would mean shelling out significant dollars as a way of keeping Carroll in the organization beyond the standard six seasons of club control. The Diamondbacks could see this as their best time to strike, fearful the price would only go up if Carroll performs the way many in the industry expect him to.
Carroll, for his part, could want the financial security that comes with such a deal — or he could be more interested in revisiting talks later when he has better demonstrated his value.
Carroll, 22, has spent just 38 days in the majors after making his debut last August. In 32 games, he hit .260/.330/.500 with nine doubles, two triples and four home runs. The Diamondbacks plan to enter this season with him as their primary left fielder.
In recent years, clubs have become increasingly aggressive in locking up young players to long-term extensions. Some of the game’s brightest young stars, including Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez and Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, signed contracts after relatively little service time.
Rodriguez’s deal came late in his rookie season, after he had already established himself as the frontrunner for the American League Rookie of the Year award. He was guaranteed $210 million over 12 years. Franco signed an 11-year, $182 million deal after a 70-game rookie season in 2021.
Given his relative inexperience, Carroll’s value might be closer to that of players who signed extensions before reaching the majors, such as those given to White Sox outfielders Luis Robert (six years, $50 million) and Eloy Jimenez (six years, $43 million).
Carroll is widely regarded as one of the best prospects in baseball, ranking either first or second on all of the major prospect lists. He is seen as a potential impact player. Evaluators see a future All-Star whom they believe is capable of hitting for average and power. Carroll also has terrific speed and is considered an above-average defender.
The Diamondbacks have not handed out many early-career extensions in recent years. They gave infielder Ketel Marte the first of two extensions when he had less than two years of service time in the spring of 2018. They have done only one other deal in the past decade — with slugger Paul Goldschmidt in 2013 — with a player with less than two years in the majors.