SB Nation Arizona - Miguel Montero Signs Five-Year Extension With Diamondbackshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46593/arizona-fave.png2012-06-03T10:00:17-07:00http://arizona.sbnation.com/rss/stream/28082632012-06-03T10:00:17-07:002012-06-03T10:00:17-07:00Keith Law Says That Miguel Montero Contract A Good One
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<p>Since <span>Miguel Montero</span> signed his five-year contract extension, there has been a lot of talk about whether it was good or bad deal, or simply overpaying to keep a guy who is good, but basically the team cannot afford to lose becaus ethey have no one in the minor leagues to replace him. </p>
<p>However, ESPN baseball insider Keith Law says<a href="http://arizonasports.com/42/1549934/MLB-insider-Dbacks-did-well-to-resign-Montero" target="_blank"> it was a good deal for Arizona</a>. </p>
<p>According to him, had the team waited to try and sign him on the open market, it would have cost even more than the $60 million that it took to extend him. Plus, statistically, he is one of the best catchers in all of baseball and is good on all facets of the job now. </p>
<p>This is what Law said on Friday on the Doug and Wolf show:</p>
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<p>"All he's got to do is stay healthy, but that's the caveat on every contract, but especially catchers because they get hurt a lot, but Montero has had basically one major injury so far in his big league career, and it's not the kind of thing you're going to expect to recur."</p>
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<p>The money looks like a lot right now. However, considering the inflation of contracts for players at the top of their position, the money will likely be very reasonable. It is possible, though, by the end of the deal that Montero is playing part time at another position like first base, as frequently happens with catchers, but even so, he is still improving.</p>
<p>Sure it cost a lot, but with the young pitching coming up in the system, the team needs a good signal caller and could ill afford to lose him. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, overpaid or not, the deal is a good one right now.</p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2012/6/3/3060437/keith-law-says-that-miguel-montero-contract-a-good-oneJess Root2012-05-27T08:00:44-07:002012-05-27T08:00:44-07:00Arizona Diamondbacks Have Big Plans For Miguel Montero
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<p>The Venezuelan catcher is now officially part of the Diamondbacks' core.</p> <p>In signing catcher <span>Miguel Montero</span> to a five-year contract extension, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> have acknowledged how important he is and how important it is that he not leave. His contract is the richest that the team has ever offered -- and that includes <span>Randy Johnson</span> and <span>Justin Upton</span>. </p>
<p>General manager Kevin Towers noted how important a good catcher is to a team during the team's press conference to announce the signing, and Montero certainly qualifies as a good one. </p>
<p>Among NL backstops since 2009, Montero ranks first with 92 doubles, second with 178 runs scored, 209 RBI, .452 slugging percentage, third with a .280 average, 378 hits, 611 total bases, 45 home runs and an .800 OPS, fourth with 391 games and a .348 on-base percentage and sixth with 131 walks. He has excelled in the clutch with 41 go-ahead RBI and 25 game-winning RBI, both second-best in the NL.</p>
<p>Montero set club records for catchers with 130 starts, 36 doubles, 18 home runs, 55 extra-base hits and 84 RBI and also threw out a club-best 47.7 percent of attempted basestealers (28-for-60) in 2011. Among NL catchers, he ranked first in hits (139), total bases (229), doubles (36), extra-base hits (55), RBI (84) and slugging percentage (.491) and second in average (.282) and home runs (18).</p>
<p>This season his offense is down a bit, but he is hitting .342 with runners in scoring position this season. </p>
<p>Defensively among active NL catchers since 2010, he is second to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a>' <span>Yadier Molina</span> by throwing out 33.7 percent of attempted basestealers (54-of-160).<span style="line-height: 9px;"> This year he has been absolutely fantastic. </span>He is throwing out whopping 59 percent of would-be base stealers so far in 2012. He has improved that percentage every year since 2008, when he only threw out just under 21 percent. </p>
<p>But it isn't just the production that got him this contract. It is also how he is with his pitchers and in the clubhouse. </p>
<p>"I've had the opportunity to watch him grow as a player and a person. The good thing about Miggy is, he sets a great example for his teammates," said Manager Kirk Gibson. "Most of all, the energy he brings to the ballpark each and every day. It's unbelievable."</p>
<p>He is always encouraging and trying to get guys up. That isn't to say he sometimes doesn't get into his teammates' faces. He once had a spat two seasons ago with <span>Ian Kennedy</span>, which quickly made them both better players. When <span>Jose Valverde</span> was closing games here in Arizona, Montero was one who felt Valverde should tone down his antics on the mound. </p>
<p>But beyond that, he is a great teammate and even is great with the press. He garnered the Arizona Chapter of the BBWAA Good Guy Award for his leadership skills on and off the field.</p>
<p>"He's really a leader, not only on the field but in the clubhouse. It was very apparent from our manager and general manager the desire to keep him here as a Diamondback," said President & CEO Derrick Hall.</p>
<p>But that isn't it. They want him to do even more -- and he does too. </p>
<p>Said Kirk Gibson, "He's been an All-Star and I know he wants to be a World Champion."</p>
<p>The team feels that to win a World Series, Montero will be a necessary piece. </p>
<p>He has a contract worthy of a big time player. Now it is his turn to keep up and even improve upon what he has accomplished in the major leagues. </p>
<p><b><i>Get more Diamondbacks coverage over at </i></b><a href="http://azsnakepit.com/"><b><i>AZ Snakepit</i></b></a><b><i>.</i></b><b><i></i></b></p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2012/5/27/3046200/arizona-diamondbacks-have-big-plans-for-miguel-monteroJess Root2012-05-26T07:01:00-07:002012-05-26T07:01:00-07:00Why The Arizona Diamondbacks Had To Pay Miguel Montero
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> surprised a lot of people when the team reportedly a<a href="http://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2012/5/25/3044222/miguel-montero-contract-extension-diamondbacks" target="_blank">greed to a five-year, $60 million contract extension</a>. According to some, the contract was worth it, despite being the <a href="http://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2012/5/25/3044224/miguel-monteros-contract-arizona-dbacks" target="_blank">richest contract that the D-backs have ever given</a>. His contract beats out the like of <span>Justin Upton</span> and, back in the day, </p>
<p>But the Arizona Diamondbacks had to pay him. </p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>To start, <span>Yadier Molina</span> made a mess of things. He got $75 million. Montero is on par with Molina statistically in most categories. Knowing that, the $60 million almost (emphasis on almost) a bargain. </p>
<p>The D-backs had to do it because he is one of their best hitters in the lineup. Granted, he was only batting .255 before the report, but he has driven in 21 runs, and with runners in scoring position, he can get hits. He is batting .342 with runners in scoring position.</p>
<p>However, the biggest reason has to do with leverage. The D-backs had none. </p>
<p>Arizona has no one in their farm system that they see as an everyday starter in the big leagues. That made Montero that much more valuable to the organization. </p>
<p>It helps that Montero likes it here, but in the end, the team had no way of adequately replacing him, so they had to pay him. </p>
<p>It's not a bad thing at all. Montero, aside from when he is swinging for the fences, continues to improve. The bat was always there. He has begun to call a great game and to work well with the starting rotation. Last season, he was a disaster throwing the ball. Now he has fixed that and is also one of the best at throwing out would-be base stealers. </p>
<p>He has become the total catching package. </p>
<p>With a new deal in hand, let us hope that he is already to continue as such. The two common sense requirements for a deal like this one? Stay alive, stay healthy and be good at what you do there.</p>
<p>Now Montero needs to focus on that. </p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2012/5/26/3044658/why-the-arizona-diamondbacks-had-to-pay-miguel-monteroJess Root2012-05-25T17:41:01-07:002012-05-25T17:41:01-07:00Miguel Montero's New Contract Is Largest In Diamondbacks History
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<p>Catchers who can change a game with their bat on a nightly basis are a rare commodity in the game of baseball. <span>Miguel Montero</span>, who will turn 29 years old in a few months, is one of those catchers. And with the slugger set to become a free agent at the end of the season, he and the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> worked hastily to get a contract extension worked out during the season.</p>
<p>The numbers on the reported deal: 5 years, $60 million. Not too shabby for a couple years of work.</p>
<p>With the extension expected to be announced on Saturday from Chase Field, Montero will officially receive the largest contract in franchise history. Is he worth the money?</p>
<p>For this article we will use WAR. No, not<i> that </i>kind of war, but rather Wins Above Replacement. It's a pretty nifty stat that determines just how valuable a player is, and it incorporates things such as the position they play, how well they run the bases, their defense, and, of course, their hitting. You can <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fangraphs.com/library/index.php/misc/war/">read more about it</a> here.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 16px;">According to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=3364&position=C">FanGraphs</a>, Montero was worth 4.4 WAR in 2011, making him one of the best catchers in the game. He was worth 1.5 WAR in 2010, 2.8 WAR in '09. With today's current market for free agents, one "win", something Montero was worth 4.4 of last season, goes for just under $5 million on the open market.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 16px;">By this statistic Montero was worth approximately $22 million last season. He was worth about $7 million in 2010, about $13 million in 09. </span></p>
<p>Needless to say, Montero is a very valuable piece of the Diamondbacks' franchise. And for $12 million a season for the next five years, it appears to be a pretty solid deal for Arizona.</p>
<p>It will be worth more than <span>Justin Upton's</span> contract extension, which will span six years and just upwards of $51 million. It even exceeds the $36 million the club gave <span>Randy Johnson</span>, although that was a completely different era.</p>
<p>You always worry about handing a catcher a lengthy contract worth a lot of money, but this does look like a pretty solid deal for all parties involved.</p>
<p><i>For more on the D-backs, check out <a target="_blank" href="http://azsnakepit.com">AZ Snake Pit</a>.</i></p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2012/5/25/3044224/miguel-monteros-contract-arizona-dbacksScott Coleman2012-05-25T16:39:50-07:002012-05-25T16:39:50-07:00Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks Agree To Extension, per Report
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<p>According to reports, the Arizona Diamondbacks have reached an agreement on an extension with catcher Miguel Montero to keep him in the desert a little longer. </p> <p>Per Jon Morosi, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> have reached an agreement on an extension with catcher <span>Miguel Montero</span> to keep him in the desert a little longer. </p>
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<p>Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%2523DBacks">#DBacks</a> and Miguel Montero agree on five-year, $60 million extension. Press conference expected Saturday.</p>
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/206157549957951488" data-datetime="2012-05-25T22:59:24+00:00">May 25, 2012</a>
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<p>If the report is true, the deal keep will Montero in a Diamondback uniform through the 2017 season. The 28 year old Montero was set to become a free-agent after this season, and his representatives and those from the team had been in talks to work out a new deal before the season. Those were broken off so Montero could concentrate on playing ball, but apparently negotiating behind the scenes started up again recently. The five-year, $60 million deal is a big increase from the four-year, $32 million deal the Diamondbacks were previously offering, according to reports. </p>
<p><b>For more on the Diamondbacks and their new deal with Montero, make sure you head over to <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/" target="_blank">The AZ SnakePit.</a> For news and commentary on Major League Baseball in general, head to <a href="http://mlb.sbnation.com/" target="_blank">Baseball Nation.</a> </b></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2012/5/25/3044143/miguel-montero-diamondbacks-agree-to-extension-per-reportDanny Kelly