--1B Tony Clark signed a one-year, $800,000 contract to return to the Diamondbacks. Clark, who lives in the Phoenix area, will be used as a pinch hitter and backup first baseman while also providing a steadying clubhouse presence to a position-player group that remains relatively young. Clark hit .225 with three home runs and 24 RBIs while splitting last season between San Diego and Arizona. He joined the D-backs at the All-Star break.
--C Chris Snyder officially signed a three-year contract extension Dec. 29 that is worth a guaranteed $14.25 million. The deal includes a team option for the 2012 season. The contract buys out the first year of free agency for Snyder, who despite missing three weeks with a fractured testicle last season had 22 doubles, 16 home runs and 64 RBIs in 115 games. He had the best ratio of RBIs per at-bat among NL catchers with at least 100 games starts last year. Snyder will make $3 million in 2009, $4.75 million in 2010 and $5.75 million in 2011. The option is worth $6.75 million with a $750,000 buyout. --Derrick Hall, who joined the D-backs shortly after Jeff Moorad joined the ownership group in 2004, was promoted to CEO after Moorad resigned Jan. 2 to pursue the purchase of the San Diego Padres. Hall joined the D-backs as the senior vice president for communications in May 2005, and he became the franchise's president on Sept. 6, 2006.
--LHP Randy Johnson bolted the D-backs for San Francisco on Dec. 26, signing a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $8 million. Johnson also can receive $2.5 million in bonuses, which was the amount of salary the D-backs offered before talks broke down and Johnson filed for free agency. The D-Backs play 18 games against the Giants this season, including two series in April. The D-backs have penciled in RHP Yusmeiro Petit as the final man in their rotation but are expected to shop for another starter in the free agent period.
--Former Diamondbacks are starting to find their way onto the Hall of Fame ballot. 2B/SS Jay Bell and 3B Matt Williams are first-time candidates for the Hall this season. Bell joined the D-backs as a free agent the day before the 1997 expansion draft and spent five seasons with the team. He scored the winning run in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Williams, acquired in a trade from Cleveland shortly after Bell was acquired, spent six seasons with the D-backs.
BY THE NUMBERS: $2.5 million -- Money raised in 2008 by the Arizona Diamondbacks' Foundation, which distributed $615,000 in grants to Arizona non-profits.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think he (Moorad) has roots that are very deep in Southern California. To get an opportunity in San Diego is exactly on point for the family in terms of that element of their lives." -- Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick, on Jeff Moorad's resignation from the organization while pursuing the purchase of the San Diego Padres.
