Diamondbacks and RHP Brad Ziegler avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension.

The deal also includes a $5.5 million club option for 2016 or a $1 million buyout. Ziegler was in his final year of arbitration eligibility, so the D'Backs have bought out at least one year of free agency. The side-arming right-hander has posted a 2.35 ERA over the last two seasons for Arizona and will help set up for them again in 2014.

In lieu of Jhonny Peralta's four-year, $53 million contract with the Cardinals, there could soon be changes coming to baseball's Joint Drug Agreement between the players union and the owners.

Brad Ziegler, who is the Diamondbacks player representative, tweeted Sunday, "It pays to cheat", and "Thanks, owners, for encouraging PED use." Ziegler elborated, "We thought 50 games would be a deterrent. Obviously it's not. So we are working on it again." It certainly sounds like many other players are echoing those same sentiments, and a likely scenario is that changes could be proposed to the agreement during the player's union annual board meeting in December. It obviously isn't good for the game if the penalties for PED use aren't enough of a deterrent, and incorporating the forfeiture of salary could be one increased penalty that is discussed.

Brad Ziegler earned his 11th save against the Dodgers on Monday, tossing a scoreless ninth inning.

Ziegler surrendered a pair of singles but walked the tightrope and protected a one-read lead. He's strung together seven consecutive scoreless frames, nice to see after Ziegler's rough patch in late August. The right-hander is 11-for-13 in save conversions and boasts a 2.26 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.

Brad Ziegler notched his 10th save on Wednesday against the Dodgers, tossing a perfect ninth inning in a 4-1 victory.

Ziegler has fired six consecutive 1-2-3 innings, a run that began on August 30. He owns a poor 37/21 K/BB ratio over 71 appearances, but Ziegler's success comes by inducing weak contact and he's done so often this year, posting a 2.30 ERA and 1.14 WHIP.

Brad Ziegler earned his first save since August 7 by tossing a perfect ninth in Thursday's win against the Giants.

No Arizona pitcher has earned a save since August 18, when J.J. Putz did so against the Pirates because the game went 16 innings. Ziegler owners have in some ways been compensated for his dearth of saves, because the right-hander has notched four wins since the beginning of last month.

Brad Ziegler gave up two runs in the ninth to blow a save against the Padres on Tuesday.

It's time for the Diamondbacks to put Ziegler back into a setup role, but their best option to replace him, J.J. Putz, just returned to the DL with a finger injury. Unless they want to go back to Heath Bell -- and they don't -- Ziegler will likely keep the job for now.

Brad Ziegler blew his first save of the season Monday against the Orioles.

Ziegler, who was called upon to protect a one-read, loaded the bases via two hits and a walk with one out. Baltimore scratched the singles from a fortuitous chopper and a questionable defensive play by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on an infield one-bagger, so it wasn't as though the Orioles flogged Ziegler. Nick Markakis nearly poked a double down the left field line, but the ball sliced foul and Markakis instead sacrificed to center. Ziegler popped Manny Machado out to short to end the inning. Adam Eaton's walkoff homer to lead off the bottom of the ninth gifted Ziegler the win, improving his record to 6-1. Prior to this evening, Ziegler hadn't allowed a run since July 4. His ninth-inning gig isn't in jeopardy.

Brad Ziegler notched his seventh save Wednesday against the Rays, tossing a scoreless ninth inning in a 9-8 win.

A walk and a single put runners on first and second for Evan Longoria, but Ziegler induced a game-ending double play grounder. Ziegler, considered a right-handed specialist, was an odd choice to take over closing duties when skipper Kirk Gibson tired of Heath Bell and J.J. Putz, but the side-armer has rewarded his manager with 12 consecutive scoreless appearances since Ziegler earned his first save on Independence Day. He's posted a 2.10 ERA and 1.09 WHIP on the year.

The Diamondbacks plan to use Brad Ziegler in the closer role for the time being.

It seemed evident that Ziegler was the favorite for saves in Arizona after he nailed down his third save in as many appearances on Monday. The side-armer boasts a 2.58 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 51 appearances this season, though he's struck out just 24 over 45 1/3 frames. Ziegler has been vulnerable to left-handed bats in his career but has managed to hold them in check this season.

Brad Ziegler picked up his fourth save of the season in Sunday's win over the Giants.

The Diamondbacks were expected to decide on a closer over the All-Star break, so Ziegler appears to be the leading candidates for saves in the short-term. The 33-year-old right-hander has a 2.58 ERA in 51 appearances, but is averaging just 85 mph on his fastball this season.

Brad Ziegler closed for the Diamondbacks on Saturday and pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.

Heath Bell struck out both batters he faced in the eighth to help set him up. Ziegler doesn't make a whole lot of sense as a closer when he's so valuable coming in with men on base and getting grounders. But then Kirk Gibson doesn't have a history of making the best choices with his pen. It's not that Ziegler can't close; it's just that the Diamondbacks pen would set up better if J.J. Putz were effective enough to get the job done there.

Brad Ziegler notched his second save of the season Thursday against the Brewers.

It wasn't without a bit of drama, as Ziegler hit Rickie Weeks with a pitch to begin the inning and gave up a one-out single to Juan Francisco. However, he was able to strike out Logan Schafer swinging and get Martin Maldonado to ground out to end it. Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers said before Thursday's game that the team doesn't have a primary closer at this point, so even though Ziegler doesn't miss many bats, he makes for a decent speculative add in fantasy leagues right now. Remember, he saved 18 games for the A's between 2008-2009.

Brad Ziegler owns a 2.61 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 24 appearances.

The former 20th-round pick hasn't received much attention since he blew onto the scene as a rookie in 2008 (finishing eighth on that season's Rookie of the Year balloting), but he hasn't slowed down much. The right-handed specialist has posted a career 2.45 ERA over 347 appearances, which makes him a good bullpen piece in deeper formats, even if he had more saves in that rookie season (11) than he's had since (eight).

Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with RHP Brad Ziegler by agreeing to a one-year contract.

Financials of the deal aren't known. Ziegler, who was in his second year of arbitration, posted a 2.49 ERA out of the pen in 2012 in his first full year with the D'Backs. He'll be used as a right-handed specialist again in 2013.

The Diamondbacks and RHP Brad Ziegler avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.795 million contract.

Ziegler requested $1.945 million and was offered $1.46 million from the Diamondbacks when arbitration figures were exchanged last week, so the two sides settled just north of the midpoint. The 32-year-old right-hander posted a 2.16 ERA and 44/19 K/BB ratio over 58 1/3 innings last season between Arizona and Oakland. He remains under team control through 2014.

Brad Ziegler requested $1.945 million and was offered $1.46 million from the Diamondbacks when arbitration figures were exchanged Tuesday.

Ziegler, who is arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter, had a 2.16 ERA and 44/19 K/BB ratio over 58 1/3 innings last season. The two sides should be able to settle somewhere in the middle.

Brad Ziegler self-destructed in Sunday's Game 2 loss to the Brewers, giving up four runs on three hits and two walks without retiring a batter.

Arizona acquired Ziegler two months ago, and he's been masterful ever since, posting a 1.74 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 20 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks. That was before Sunday. In fairness, one batter reached base on an error, while one of the walks was intentional. But there's no escaping this performance, which was the first playoff appearance of his career.

Diamondbacks acquired RHP Brad Ziegler from the Athletics for 1B-OF Brandon Allen and LHP Jordan Norberto.

J.J. Putz and David Hernandez have been a late-inning solid tandem, but the acquisition of Ziegler provides Kirk Gibson with another reliable option. The 31-year-old has a 2.39 ERA and 29/13 K/BB ratio over 37 2/3 innings this season. He's making $1.25 million in 2011 and remains under team control through 2014. One wonders if parting with Allen means Paul Goldschmidt is on his way to the big leagues.

ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Diamondbacks are interested in Brad Ziegler.

Olney reported earlier that Arizona was talking to the A's about Grant Balfour, but it appears they were unable to find a fit there and are moving on to a different member of the Oakland bullpen. Ziegler has held right-handed batters to a .198 batting average this season.

Brad Ziegler has experimented with a two-seam fastball and has been very pleased with the results thus far.

Ziegler always though a sinker wouldn't fit with his side-arming style, but he tried it out in warm-ups Tuesday "just to see - and the ball started sinking." He then used it in a game and got multiple outs with it, so it appears it will be a permanent addition to his arsenal. Though he's still been successful, Ziegler's numbers have dropped for two straight seasons, so he's happy to add another weapon.