The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a long-term contract extension with outfielder Corbin Carroll, one of the top prospects in all of baseball. Steve Gilbert reports. According to Gilbert, the deal runs for eight years and guarantees $111 million. An option for the 2031 season, if exercised, would bring the total value to $134 million. CBS Sports HQ has confirmed the deal.
Carroll currently has just 38 major league games, which helps make this reported deal a record:
Nick Piecoro was the first to report that the two sides were in talks for a long-term deal.
Carroll, 22, made his major league debut last season and in 32 games for the Diamondbacks he hit .260/.330/.500 (133 OPS+) with four home runs and nine doubles. His rookie status will remain intact for the 2023 season, and the former No. 16 overall pick plans to be Arizona’s starting left. Earlier this year our RJ Anderson ranked Carroll as baseball’s No. 2. Here’s what he wrote:
“Carroll was limited to 142 minor league games by injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic prior to his Arizona debut last August. The lack of reps didn’t stop him from beating .260/.330/.500 (133 OPS+). with four homers and two steals in 32 games. Carroll continued to exhibit swing-and-miss tendencies within the zone and ranked in the 27th percentile in this regard. This blunder won’t see him go under (Paul Goldschmidt and the aforementioned Gunnar Henderson were just two recognizable names around him on the leaderboard), but it may result in a higher strikeout rate than he anticipated in the past. Still, Carroll is a well-rounded midfielder with top-notch speed should offer oodles of secondary value. He should start the season in the majors.
At the very least, that deal would lock up Carroll during his season at age 29 and buy out at least two of his free-agent years. If the option year is exercised, Carroll would first achieve free reign at age 31.
The usual incentives for such deals with very young players apply. The long-term commitment to the Diamondbacks provides Carroll with life-changing cash and strong insurance against career-changing injuries and problems. From the club’s perspective, the extension gives them cost certainty from Carroll’s arbitration years, extends the window of team control and installs a core talent to build around as they attempt to transition into competitive mode. There is risk on both sides in such arrangements, but a reasonable middle ground seems to have been reached.
Other recent long-term contract extensions with players with less than a year of MLB service include Wander Franco with the Rays (11 years, $182 million), Ronald Acuña with the Braves (seven years, $99.44 million), the Harris , Luis Robert of the White Sox (six years, $50 million) and Eloy Jiménez of the White Sox (six years, $43 million). Robert and Jiménez signed their renewals before ever appearing in the majors.