A.J. Pollock open to remaining with Diamondbacks

A.J. Pollock wants to remain in Arizona. Pollock has had a notable amount of success throughout 2015, and according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, Pollock is interested in signing a long-term extension with the Diamondbacks.

Although Arizona first has to be interested in making an offer, General Manager Dave Stewart told CBS Sports' Jon Heyman Pollock is a "big piece" of the club's future plans. Heyman noted the Diamondbacks should consider extending Pollock on Friday.

Even though he missed a fraction of 2014 with a hand injury, Pollock batted .302 to complement seven home runs and 24 RBIs over 75 contests. Through 111 games this season, he is batting .312/.365/.474 in addition to 12 home runs and 50 RBIs. Pollock has also been valuable on the base paths for Arizona this season, stealing 28 bases.

Pollock was named an All-Star for the first time in July and entered Friday with the fifth-highest WAR in the National League, Piecoro adds. At the end of the season, Pollock will still have three years of service time remaining, which makes him arbitration eligible for the first time in his career. He is not set to become a free agent until after the 2018 season, and as a result, if the Diamondbacks do not sign him to a long-term contract they might extend his current deal with the intention of delaying free agency.

Michael Brantley received a four-year, $25 million deal and might be the only center fielder with a comparable amount of service time to sign an extension over the last few seasons. A Pollock extension could prove to be more costly, though, since Pollock has had more success than Brantley did when he signed his deal.

The Diamondbacks appear to be pleased with their core and extending Pollock would likely ensure outfield stability moving forward. But while Pollock is interested, the Diamondbacks have to be too.