The Arizona Diamondbacks announced on Friday a five-year contract extension with right-hander Brandon Pfaadt that, according to multiple reports, is worth $45 million.
Pfaadt, 26, is due to earn a reported $799,400 this season before his new deal begins in 2026. The contract includes a $21 million club option for 2031 and a $25 million mutual option or 2032, with Pfaadt gaining a no-trade clause for 2030-32, according to MLB.com.
“I think you’ve got to think of the peace of mind that it brings,” Pfaadt said at a news conference on Friday. “And now I’m able to go out there and compete every fifth day with the peace of mind and go out there and go do my job. So I think that had a big play in it. And there’s a lot of things we can avoid later on. Just move on and go out there and compete.”
Pfaadt went 11-10 last season with a 4.71 ERA, 42 walks and 185 strikeouts in 181 2/3 innings over 32 games (all starts). He led all Diamondbacks starters in innings pitched.
He pitched in 19 regular-season games (18 starts) as a rookie in 2023 and went 3-9 with a 5.72 ERA, 26 walks and 94 strikeouts in 96 innings. He also started five games in the Diamondbacks’ postseason run to the World Series and was 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA, five walks and 26 strikeouts in 22 innings.
Arizona selected Pfaadt in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
“Ever since (I) got drafted in 2020, my wife and I, we’ve loved Arizona,” Pfaadt said. “We’ve loved everything about it. Whether that be in the clubhouse and outside the clubhouse, we’re just happy to be here longer, and extend that stay a little longer.”
Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said at the news conference that the franchise wants to get its top young players under contract and keep the core of talent together.
“We’ve talked about with a couple of these (extensions) already,” Hazen said. “Brandon falls very much in the group of players that we have that we feel like getting some certainty around what the future is going to look like is very important for us, in terms of building a roster and keeping this team together for as long as we can.
“Brandon’s one of the bright young pitchers we have that have come up through our system and have come on to the major league level. And as we know, it’s a very tough position to do that in this league as a starting pitcher. And he’s done a great job over the last couple of years.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo praised the front office for committing to players and lauded Pfaadt as a good player and “elite human being.”
“It gives me a lot of peace of mind knowing that we have that type of player that’s going to be here growing and learning and continuing the Diamondbacks way,” Lovullo said. “And for me personally, that means that we have a core group of guys that we’ve identified as the right people. They’re the right human beings that are really good at sharing this culture and enriching it. And it becomes very powerful.”
