Diamondbacks, catcher Snyder agree to three-year contract

PHOENIX -- Looking to lock up another regular, the Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a three-year contract with catcher Chris Snyder.

The deal is worth a reported $14.5 million and runs through 2011 with a club option for the 2012 season. It follows Arizona's multiyear contracts with players such as center fielder Chris Young and pitcher Dan Haren, infielder Chad Tracy and outfielder Eric Byrnes.

"As we have with a few other guys, to lock in a core player, fix the prices but also buy out a year or two of free agency, that allows us to keep our core together," general manager Josh Byrnes said in a conference call Tuesday.

Snyder, also speaking on a conference call, said he is happy to know he'll be with the club for the long term. He could give up two free-agency seasons if the option is picked up.

"It's a young core," the 27-year-old Snyder said. "If we stay together, definitely we'll be contending in the National League West, if not further than that."

As the Diamondbacks' second-round pick in 2002, Snyder was tagged as the club's catcher of the future. But questions about Snyder's hitting dogged him after he leaped from Double-A El Paso to the Diamondbacks in 2004.

Snyder batted .202 in 2005, his first full season in the big leagues. He hit .277 in 2006, but his average has dipped to .252 and then to .237 a year ago.

His home runs and RBI have increased over that span, and his on-base percentage has been steady, in the .340-.350 range.

"I've definitely gone through some ups and downs, especially early on in 2005, there were a lot more downs than ups," Snyder said.

Last year, he hit a career-high 16 home runs, a single-season record for a Diamondbacks catcher, and drove in 64 runs, another career high.

But Snyder's greatest value is his glove and his deft handling of pitchers.

Behind the plate, Snyder did not commit an error in 847 total chances. He has one error in 1,629 chances in the last two seasons for a .999 fielding percentage.

He's also had a hand in the maturation of pitchers such as Brandon Webb, another product of the Diamondbacks' farm system.

"He handles the defensive side and the intangible side of the position very well," Byrnes said. "It's sort of immeasurable what he does as far as preparing for an opponent, working with the pitchers, the toughness that he brings."