The Diamondbacks and left-handed relief pitcher Joe Thatcher avoided arbitration and agreed to a one-year contract Friday.
The 32-year-old Thatcher combined to go 3-2 with a 3.20 ERA in a career-high 72 relief appearances between the Padres and D-backs last season. Thatcher was acquired from San Diego on July 31 with right-handed pitcher Matt Stites and a draft pick for starting pitcher Ian Kennedy.
In 309 career appearances over season seasons, Thatcher has gone 8-12 with one save and a 3.34 ERA in 207 2/3 innings. He has limited left-handed hitters to a .218 average career average and has not surrendered a home run to a National League left-hander since the Giants' Brandon Belt hit one on Sept. 22, 2012. Since 2007, Thatcher ranks 12th among all left-handed relievers in ERA and third among all major leaguers in percentage of inherited runners scored (19.0), trailing only Javier Lopez (18.1) and Randy Choate (18.2).
Also on Friday, the Diamondbacks exchanged arbitration figures with outfielders Mark Trumbo and Gerardo Parra. Trumbo asked for $5.85 million while the Diamondbacks offered $3.4 million. Parra asked for $5.2 million compared to a $4.3 million proposal by the team.
