According to the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks and ace Brandon Webb have once again started dialogue in regards to a long-term contract extension to keep the Cy Young award winning pitcher in Arizona. “Yeah, some progress has been made…We’ve been talking a little bit more. We’ve made some headway. We’ll see where it goes”, said Webb. Under Webb’s current deal, he is signed through 2009 with an option for 2010, but the D’Backs are most likely looking to push that deal three or four years beyond that.

Well, Webb is no doubt one of the best in the game today. Johan Santana got an annual salary averaging $22 million from the N.Y. Mets, where Jake Peavy’s new deal has him earning slightly more than $17 million per season. In theory, Webb should fall into the same category, but when players negotiate prior to hitting free agency they tend to earn a little bit less (i.e. - Roy Oswalt signing a 5 year extension worth $73 million). We’ll see how much the D’Backs are willing to pony-up to retain Webb’s services for the long term.

Filed under: Arizona Diamondbacks