NL West: Diamondbacks, A.J. Pollock Agree To A Two-Year Deal

Some National League West news for you early into Tuesday morning. The Arizona Diamondbacks, the surprise NL West team of the offseason has locked up outfielder A.J. Pollock for another two years. The two avoided arbitration as Pollock is expected to make up to $10.25 million over the two years, this coming from ESPN Insider Buster Olney.

As I mentioned earlier, the D’Backs are the surprise team of the NL West. What do I mean by that? Well, they managed to snag Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke — who would’ve thought? Not to mention, they also acquired Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Shelby Miller in a package that sent the number one overall pick, Dansby Swanson, to Atlanta.

Worth noting, the D’Backs also made a splash earlier in the night as well, inking former Washington Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard to a two-year deal as well. Here’s the details on Clippard’s contract per ESPN.

"The deal is worth $12.25 million, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. The deal includes a base salary of $4.1 million in 2016 and $4.15 million in 2017, as well as a signing bonus of $4 million."

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The D’Backs will surely challenge atop the NL West this upcoming season, providing competition for the Dodgers and Giants. I mean, just look at the talent D’Backs manager Chip Hale has to work with now. Paul Goldschmidt, A.J. Pollock, Yasmany Tomas, Chris Owings, Jean Segura to name a few position players. On the pitching side of things, Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller, Patrick Corbin, Rubby De La Rosa, Daniel Hudson etc.

Next: Rockies Reportedly Not Pursuing Yovani Gallardo

There’s no doubt in my mind, pending injury, that the D’Backs will be a fun team to watch as the Major League Baseball season kicks off. They went from being a middle of the pack team to a legitimate contender over the Winter Meetings, and to this day, they’re continuing to make some noise.