Corbin Carroll's Extension a Result of Commitment and Trust
The Diamondbacks locked up their top prospect Corbin Carroll to an eight-year, $111 million extension yesterday. It was a record-breaking extension for a player with less than 100 days of service time, easily eclipsing the eight-year, $72 million extension that Michael Harris II signed with the Braves last August.
For the D-backs to give a record-breaking extension to a player with only 32 big league games under his belt requires a lot of trust. That trust was earned when the lights weren't shining on Carroll. It was also the same trust that Carroll put in his agent, Joe Urbon, to negotiate a long term deal to keep him in Arizona.
"Since the day we've drafted Corbin, he's been a model in so many different ways of what we're looking for in an Arizona Diamondbacks player" said general manager Mike Hazen. "I'm convinced he goes to bed every night fixated on how he's going to be a better player the next day and what he could do to help the organization and the team win".
When Carroll suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery, he was facing a lengthy rehab process to get back on the field. That's when he impressed the organization the most and began to earn their trust. "Watching the rehab process is a window into the human being" said Hazen, "you see how this matters to him. And in the end like that's what we're that's what we're investing in".
While undergoing the rehab process, Carroll took the opportunity to watch big league games in the scouting section to take mental reps. This further illustrates his commitment to winning, as he convinced fellow prospect Jordan Lawlar to take the same opportunities. The experience proved to be beneficial for both players, as they went on to have successful seasons in 2022. For Carroll, it meant tearing up Double-A and Triple-A before a promotion to the big leagues. With the level of commitment he exhibited the past two seasons, it convinced the D-backs to pursue a potential long term extension with their top prospect.
According to Hazen, the negotiations lasted roughly a month. Carroll was very involved throughout the process, with support from his family. Eventually they worked out a deal that Carroll said "made sense to both sides in terms of what you're giving up in terms of risk and leverage. When we got to a place that was a win-win, I thought it was a no brainer".
For the D-backs, the urgency to get a deal done with Carroll was also about sending the right message to the clubhouse. Hazen said "Ken [Kendrick] and Derrick [Hall] have challenged us to continue to find ways to invest in this team in the ways that we really want and feel very convicted and doing and this was an example of that". Last year, the team agreed to extensions with Merrill Kelly and Ketel Marte.
With Carroll a Diamondback for the foreseeable future, the team is placing their trust that he will be the lynchpin of a contending team that plays a very dynamic and exciting brand of baseball.
