Arizona signed CI-R Shea Hillenbrand to a one-year, $2.6M contract on Friday the 13th of February. The two sides were scheduled for a salary arbitration hearing on February 19th with Hillenbrand formally requesting $2.875M while the Diamondbacks offered $2.4M. Under the compromise, Hillenbrand will receive a $50,000 bonus if he makes the All-Star team.

Hillenbrand, who was arbitration-eligible for the first time this off-season, missed a big chunk of June with a strained oblique muscle, but his final numbers differed very little from his 2002 production. While his walk rate technically improved slightly, he still needs to work on his plate discipline if he hopes to make the jump from mundane starter to star. The 28-year-old possesses solid power, though I don't expect to see much growth in that area until his G-F drops. Arizona's acquisition of 1B-R Richie Sexson this off-season eliminates first base as a regular option for Hillenbrand, leaving Hillenbrand as the Diamondbacks' starter at third base. Despite 3B-L Chad Tracy's obvious upside, I don't expect Tracy to threaten Hillenbrand given Arizona's history with corner infield prospects.

C-R Bobby Estalella recently signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks. While we discussed Estalella signing such a deal with the Tigers, the 29-year-old evidently realized he wouldn't receive much of an opportunity with Detroit after the club signed C-R Ivan Rodriguez. Arizona dealt both C-R Chad Moeller and C-R Brad Cresse this off-season while non-tendering C-R Rod Barajas, leaving C/CR-R Robby Hammock as their starting catcher and C-L Brent Mayne as their major league back-up. Hammock underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee on Friday, and while he should recover before Opening Day, the incident highlights how quickly the Diamondbacks could find themselves in need of another catcher in the majors.

Elsewhere in the division, the Dodgers signed RHP Guillermo Mota to a one-year, $1.475M contract last week. Mota emerged as a highly effective reliever last season, and given the improvement in his effectiveness appears grounded in solid skill growth, he should remain a productive setup man for Los Angeles in 2004. In 2003, the 30-year-old kept more balls on the ground, improved his strikeout rate, and most notably substantially lowered his walk rate.